


Eleteo Drabble Collection

by RaychelRay



Category: Elena of Avalor (Cartoon)
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M, Friendship, Romance, Shippy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 25,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23067679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaychelRay/pseuds/RaychelRay
Summary: Decided to start compiling all my drabbles for one of my favorite EOA ships (part of my holy trinity LOL) because I always seem to have a million ideas for them!
Relationships: Mateo de Alva/Elena Castillo Flores
Comments: 7
Kudos: 68





	1. A little Navidad Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Was my secret santa exchange with my friend Jenni aka Lovelyrugbee on the EOA discord!

Though Avalorians rarely ever had a ‘traditional white Christmas’ compared to other kingdoms in the EverRealm, it was still easy to tell when the Navidad season was in full swing.

The markets and trading ports were flooded with more and more people as they all hunted for that perfect gift as the days drew near. Imported poinsettias became the centerpieces of all family dining tables and were surrounded by the mouthwatering seasonal foods. Beautiful garlands were strung between houses. And the tinkling of bells and carols filled the air.

The Royal Palace, and more specifically, the Royal Solar had all of these merriments and magic and more. 

Well, a few hours ago they did.

What remained now were ripped shreds of colored wrapping paper, hardening gingerbread houses that were settling on top of tables, and of course, all the new gifts that had been exchanged littered throughout the whole room.

“You know, I’m starting to miss when the kids would take all their gifts with them to bed, no matter what they were,” Mateo said as finished stacking the new playing cards that had been strewn all over the game table that was right in front of the fireplace. They were were hand-painted and extremely detailed gift from King Hector. They had been a little disturbing at first, seeing his face on every one of them. But they had gotten more appealing the more rounds of old maid they had played.

“At the very least, they are finally old enough to stay awake and help clean up after the party,” Elena said as she continued folding up new garments and placing them in their respective piles.

And this was true. Currently, they were either down in the kitchens washing dishes and putting away holiday treats, or they were putting the castle to sleep by lighting candles or getting fresh linens. It was always a tradition of the Royal Family to give the staff the day off to be with their families on Navidad. Though they had always been up for the task without complaint, Elena would be lying if she didn’t think that it certainly helped that they now had a large extended family of kids, cousins, nieces and nephews, and in-laws.

“Let’s take a quick break,” Elena declared as she folded the last piece of clothing and got to her feet. “I want to warm up a little.” 

She paused briefly though at a bowl of leftover cranberries and grabbed a small handful. Elena popped the berries in her mouth as she walked over the couch where her husband was already sitting. The deliciously tart flavor coated her mouth and made Elena grateful that this time her craving for these coincided with their seasonal demand. She already knew for a fact that she would need a lot more of these in the near future.

Once she made it over, Elena sat down right next to Mateo, immediately toed off her heels, and sighed in content as she folded her legs under her, having enjoyed one too many dances this evening. Mateo now had his reading glasses on as he gazed at stack of papers in front of him. As Elena laid her head on his shoulder, she realized that he was looking at drawings done earlier this evening.

His arm securely wrapped around her shoulders and she did the same in return as they both continued to admire the artwork. So many members of their families had become skilled drawers, that they now had books filled with them and all the beautiful memories they depicted. Memoires more priceless than all the jewels and silk in all the world.

Elena’s fingers then trailed across his shoulder and up to his hair. A habit she started doing more after Mateo had decided to let his hair grow out recently. It was now long enough that he could tie it back into a low ponytail at the base of his neck.

Elena chuckled as she wound a curl around her finger.

“What?” Mateo immediately asked her, his curiosity always quickly peaked.

“I’m just thinking about how long your hair got after Lulu was born.” Elena’s smile broadened. “You’re mami had a conniption about it.”

“You don’t even know the half of it,” Mateo mused as he took off his glasses and placed them and the drawings on the game table. “But I didn’t care, my hair seemed like that last thing on my mind compared to being a father for the first time.”

Elena nodded her head in agreement. “I remember I only wore my hair in a braid and had not any make-up for the first 2 months.”

“You were still beautiful,“ Mateo said as he intertwined their fingers together. “Especially when you would sing her lullabies early in the mornings even though you were exhausted.”

“And you looked just as handsome when you played with her in the bath, splashing water everywhere and making her giggle.” Elena slid her free hand underneath his vest. “I remember how much I wanted to have another baby with you as soon as Lulu became a toddler.”

“I’m sorry I made you wait a few years then.” Mateo brushed his nose against hers, “Wasn’t for a lack of trying though.”

Elena smiled. Now that was an understatement.

It was queer though, to have a memory that felt simultaenously so distant and yet so close as well. They’re babies were growing up fast. Julian was already 7 and had received his first tamborita on his birthday a few months ago. Bianca was only a year older at 8 and had an exceptional gift for needle work and was now even making her own dresses. Ana Lucia, their eldest, was now 12 and spent her days growing her ever adventurous spirit, usually on the back of her first proper horse, Maya.

Even their youngest niece was already 5 years. The Avalor castle had certainly been without the cries and the laughs of a baby for a while…

“I have another gift for you,” Elena then said mischievously as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ears.

“Oh really?” Mateo said, dropping his voice low and his hand slid down from her shoulder and along the side of her body before it rested on her backside. “I wonder what it could be? The same as what I got last year? And the year before that?”

“Okay then, I have another _another_ gift for you.” Elena gave him a quick kiss to quell him, for now. “A riddle.”

Mateo’s head tilted to the side, even more intrigued.

Elena made a great show of clearing her throat and then said with a great flourish:

“What has ten fingers, and ten little toes, two sleepy eyes and a cute button nose? What has two feet, and a belly to tickle, and causes a craving for chocolate and pickles? With just one more hint, we’re sure you’ll see, The answer to this riddle begins with a B.”

When she finished, Elena felt her heart start to beat at a rapid pace.

“Do you know the answer?”

“Mmmhmm,” Mateo said, not even trying to hide the smug look on his face. “It’s obviously a baby. It was easy to tell by–”

Elena bit her lips tightly, anticipation lighting up her every nerve as she watched his expression transform.

“Wait…”

Elena could no longer suppress the laugh that had been within her. His practically sparkling eyes and jaw dropped smile were just too adorable.

“You’re serious!?” Mateo loudly exclaimed as he quickly moved so that they now faced each other.

“Yes, yes of course I am!” Elena replied just as loud as she bounced a little in her seat.

Mateo let out a shaky breathe as one of his hands then went to her stomach, he rubbed small gentle circles over it. “Hey…hey there little one.”

His overreaction wasn’t unwarranted. Though Julian’s birth had been the easiest, even after the complications surrounding Bee’s birth that came close to taking Elena’s life, the couple knew better than to try and tempt fate twice. Especially when magic had been involved to heal Elena. They had decided from then on that they would start taking their contraceptive potions from their courting days until further notice. And it became such a routine part of their lives, that they had kept it up for years now. That was, Elena guessed, until sometime recently.

Mateo must have had that same realization as he then asked, “How? Or I mean, when?”

Elena shrugged. “I only found out two days ago. However, even if we figure out around what time I might have gotten pregnant, I don’t think we’ll ever find out exactly which time it was.”

“Do you feel okay though?” Mateo asked, a spark of concern flickering in his eyes. “No abnormalities or new pains?”

“None,” Elena said as she shook her head and began rubbing comforting circles on his hand that was still on her tummy. “You know I’ll keep you informed if anything happens though. But I have hope that I will be just fine. I was young and strong then, and I’m still spry and strong now.”

Mateo beamed at her, filling her heart with so much love. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her waist and fell backwards. Elena squealed as she fell on top of him. The two of them descended into a fit of giggles as Elena retaliated by peppering his face in kisses.

They continued to stay in that position even when they were now red faced and breathless. Elena felt like she had just drank a cup of Abeula’s special Navidad punch with how warm and fuzzy she felt.

“The kids won’t believe this!” Mateo exclaimed with his arms she wrapped tightly around her. “I’m sure Julian will be ecstatic to be an older brother now.”

“You’re right. But if we tell them now, they’ll never be able to fall asleep. Let’s tell them tomorrow at breakfast.”

Elena nuzzled her head into his chest.

“Tonight, I just want you to fully enjoy your gift, to enjoy our little secret tonight.”

“Oh, my gift!” Mateo quickly scrambled to get them back upright. He leapt up from the couch and ran over to the christmas tree.

Mateo waved his hand in front of a particularly strong branch. A small red velvet box materialized where he had just waved.

Elena rolled her eyes. “You know you don’t have to keep doing that every year.”

“With that impish side of yours, I don’t take my chances,” Mateo said as he took his place back right beside her. “Especially around Navidad, you can be as bad as Esteban.”

Elena couldn’t resist giving him a slight shoulder push, even if he was right.

Mateo just laughed though as he presented the box out to her. He made her wait in suspense for a few more seconds before he lifted up the lid to reveal the gift.

Inside was a beautiful simple bracelet made of rose gold, the precious metal she had taken up since the day she had officially become Queen. And on the bracelet were 5 little circle charms, with each one of them having a different gemstone in the middle of it.

Elena was speechless at the care and beauty of it as Mateo took out and put it on her right wrist. Elena felt her cheeks ache from smiling so wide as she held out her wrist and moved it around so that the gold glowed and the gems sparkled in the firelight.

“It’s all our birthstones,” Mateo then said softly.

Elena’s movement ceased. She brought her wrist and cradled the bracelet as if it was made of glass and looked deeply at the now even more precious gemstones.

Mateo pointed to the one on the left. “Mine.” 

Then to the one on the right. “Yours”

And finally the three ones in the middle. “Lulu, Bee, and Julian.”

“And there’s always room for one more,” Mateo grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

Elena used her free hand to wipe away the little tears that were starting to pool in her eyes. She felt that the bracket was now already something so near and dear to her even though she only has had it for a few minutes now. It was a miniaturized version of her family that she would be able to keep close with her at all times.

“You better be careful,” Elena said in a low tone as she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his. “Or we might need more than one.”

Mateo chuckled as his hand went back to her stomach. Elena placed her right hand over the top of his. The present and future now altogether in this moment.

Elena closed her eyes in content. “Happy Navidad, _mi amor_.”

“Happy Navidad, _mi corazon_.”


	2. Emotional Motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was one emotion that we didn’t see displayed in the Elena of Avalor Special “The Magic within.”
> 
> So I decided to take liberty in doing my interpretation of how that scene went. Which is the right way :)
> 
> P.S. Wrote this in about 30 minutes
> 
> Enjoy!

“Elena! Wait!” Isabel called out, but she was already too late.

Elena was in a full sprint down the hallway. 

She had left the dining room in shambles and was even causing some paintings to tilt and shake on the wall as she ran past them.

She knew she would regret causing so much destruction and mayhem to the palace, to her home, later. But she couldn’t think of that right now.

All she could see was red. Or more specifically orange.

Whatever it was, it was coursing through her hotter and hotter until she felt like she would start smoking and burn up.

Elena then brought herself to an abrupt halt as she stood in front of a set of closed doors.

The doors to the Royal Wizard Quarters. Mateo’s room.

Without a second thought, Elena threw open the doors with so much force that they banged against the walls and rattled the hinges.

Mateo jumped up from the couch he had been sitting on with the book he had reading falling onto the floor.

“Elena?” He asked, his voice full of alarm. “What’s going–?”

He was cut off though as the very room around them began to shake as Elena grew more and more orange.

He wouldn’t believe what had just happened! She couldn’t even believe it! When she saw that traitorous, vile, scheming rat again, she would–!

“Ouch!” Mateo cried out as he had tripped over his own feet from the great tremors she was causing and hit his shoulder against the couch.

Elena gasped as all of the anger immediately expelled from her and everything came to a stand still.

“Mateo!” Elena shrieked out. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay!? I didn’t mean to!”

She wanted to race over to him and make sure he was okay as always; but as soon as Elena took her first step, her knees gave out and she collapsed onto the ground.

Elena was stunned by this sudden weakness. As soon as she made a move to stand though, she realized she didn’t have the strength to, her body was trembling all over.

But it wasn’t like the white hot fury she had felt only moments ago. Instead she felt cold, like the very bones in her body had turned to ice. 

It started to then get hard for her to breathe. Like that ice was climbing into her lungs and heart. 

Oh god.

How could she stop that ice!?

Her dress was already starting to turn purple.

“Elena…” Mateo’s voice said in a whisper.

Elena’s head snapped up to see Mateo kneeling in front of her, still holding his hurt shoulder as his hazel eyes looked wide and full of concern.

Elena then no longer felt any anxiety, and instead felt deeply guilty for hurting her best friend, all because _another_ member of her _familia_ had betrayed her to the person that had cost her everything.

Why did it always seem when things were looking their brightest, they turned into her darkest moments in an instant?

Mateo then touched her shoulder and she swore he was going to tell her to start thinking of baby jaquins.

Instead, he got down on both his knees and spread out his arms, inviting her for a hug. For the very first time.

Elena felt her chest tighten as she instantly threw herself at him and practically tackled him to the ground.

But he stayed strong and kept them firmly in place as hot, burning cries whacked Elena’s body and thick tears poured from her eyes.

She continued to cry unabashedly in Mateo’s arm until she was certain that she had soaked his shoulder with her tears. After all, her face felt soaked.

So did her shoulders. And her hair?

Elena pulled back from Mateo to look up and see that a dark, gray cloud had formed above them and was pouring down icy rain drops onto them even though they were definitely inside.

Elena felt a lump form in her throat as she then looked down and saw that this unexpected weather had indeed been caused by her as her dress was now a dark blue color.

Great, she had ruined his room for the third time today and now he was soaked so much that he had to push his curly hair back out of his face to still see. 

She really was hopeless right now.

She already had an apology forming on her lips, but Elena didn’t even get one word out before Mateo pulled her back into another hug.

“It’s okay,” He said in a voice that was as soft as floating leaves. “It’s okay Elena.”

Elena got the feeling he was talking about much more than just the water damaged floor. 

And with those comforting words mixed with how safe she felt in his arms, Elena was able to fall into his embrace and continue to let her emotions literally pour out of her.


	3. Baby Bump

_“Pregnant.”_

Elena smiled as she placed her fingers on her stomach.

_“I’m pregnant…Mateo and I are going to have a baby.”_

Two weeks had already passed since the Royal Physician had informed her of the good news, which she then immediately passed on to her husband, then her familia, and finally, to all of Avalor.

Still, it seemed like every time Elena passed a mirror now, she had to stop and look, just for a chance to see her run her fingers over her stomach, like she was doing now in front of her standing mirror in her bedchamber.

Elena couldn’t help as she let out a little squeal of delight, and she skipped over to her bed. She flopped onto the fluffy mattress in a way that would have definitely caused some to scold at her with concern for the baby.

But Elena wasn’t worried, she knew her limits and would protect this child with everything she had for the rest of her life.

 _“I wonder what they will look like?”_ Elena pondered to herself. Would it be a boy or girl? Would they have her brown eyes or Mateo’s beautiful hazel ones? Castillo-Flores thick waves or De Alva messy curls? Would they posses magical ability and want to pursue it? Or would they be a scholar or maybe even a warrior?

Oh, how her mind rambled through all the possibilities. Why did there have to be 8 more months before she could meet them!?

She laid a hand back on her stomach which at this point was still flat and firm. Her abuela assured her it wouldn’t be long until she would start showing. So for now, the only thing that had really changed was her morning sickness and food cravings.

Elena’s hand then brushed against one of the bed’s feather pillows. It was smaller than most of them, but still plush, soft and full, just like a…

Elena was suddenly struck with an idea as she grabbed the pillow and raced back over to her mirror.

Without hesitation, she lifted up her skirt and stuck the pillow under her dress. Elena adjusted it until she got the exact shape she wanted.

Elena grinned widely as she looked at her reflection. She now looked like she had a large baby bump, just as she remembered her mami had when she had been pregnant with Isabel.

“It’s not a bad look,” Elena giggled as she began modeling in front the mirror, viewing her bump from all angles, and loving everyone of them. Her anticipation also began to grow with how very soon she would be able to see this view everyday. 

Elena began to wonder if this is what she would look like in her formal ball gown or even in one of her adventure outfits. Would she even still be able to wear her swimsuit? Or even–

“What are you doing?”

Elena whipped around to see Mateo standing in the middle of their bedroom. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, she hadn’t even heard the door open or even close behind him.

Her face burned red in embarrassment as she quickly reached under her dress and pulled the pillow out.

“Nothing,” She hastily said as she threw the pillow over her shoulder, refusing to meet his gaze.

“You sure you were doing nothing?” Mateo replied back, and Elena could practically hear that knowing smirk in his voice.

“I–I was just curious,” Elena said in a quiet voice, still mortified that Mateo seen her do something so weird and childish.

She then heard the sound of his footsteps approach her. Only stopping when he was close enough to wrap his arms around her waist.

Elena finally looked back up to the mirror, to see his smiling face and loving eyes reflecting back at her.

“I just don’t want to wait any longer,” Elena confessed. “I’ve spent many nights and even days dreaming about having a child of my own with the husband I love so dearly. I’m already a Queen and a wife, and now I want to be a mother so bad that I wish they were already here.”

Mateo chuckled. “It’s nice to see your impatience hasn’t gone away at all.”

Elan gave a small ‘hmph’ at him as he kissed the side of her forehead.

Mateo’s hands then settled on her stomach as he began tracing lazy circles with his fingers.

“You are not alone though _mi amor_ ,” Mateo said softly in her ear. “I can’t wait for them to be born too. To be able to hold them, and kiss their small head, and count their tiny fingers and toes.”

Elena felt herself instantly melting at the idea of him interacting with the baby in such a gentle way. However, she also noticed that his hands were slightly trembling, and his eyes held a slightly worried gaze.

“Are you scared?” Elena asked, placing her hands over his so that they were now firmly pressed against her.

“A little,” He admitted. “I didn’t grow up with a father or even my grandfather. So I’m not exactly sure how I’m supposed to be a good father. My mother is an incredible parent, but some small part of me still can’t figure out if that is enough or I might mess up–”

Elena quickly kissed the side of his jaw, seizing his concerns.

“You’re worrying too much again,” Elena said as she nuzzled her nose against his neck. “I know how you feel though. I wish my parents were still here with me. To calm my nerves or give me guidance on how to not only be a good ruler, but to also be a loving and tentative parent as they had been for me and Isabel.”

Elena sighed a little. Dias De Los Muertos couldn’t get here soon enough.

“But,” She then continued. “We are not alone. We still have our friends, family, and each other. No matter what, our child will grow up surrounded by so much love and support, they will not know what to do with all of it.”

Mateo said nothing, but his smile told her he was calm and at ease again, and that was all she needed.

He puzzled her though as he began picking up and gathering some of the fabric of her dress until it was an uneven lump around her stomach.

“You’re right by the way,” Mateo said. “It is a good look on you.”


	4. Wedding Day Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was watching Aladdin and the King of Thieves and thought that it was such an Eleteo story that I had to write something for it…and I picked the after the wedding desolation, because I’m just that kind of person. Probably part of a larger story I might never write, but an idea I might kick around a few more stories for.

It had started out as such a perfect day in the Kingdom of Avalor.

The sun had been shining without a cloud in the sky, his mother had started crying before he even made it up to the altar, and Elena had looked absolutely beautiful in her wedding dress.

Now it was all in shambles.

Mateo felt his stomach drop as he looked solemnly around the decimated Royal Ballroom.

On top of the decorations being trampled and torn to shreds, the Castle itself had also suffered some damage as well, with the stain glass windows shattered apart and chunks of the wall were missing.

“Mateo!”

Mateo turned to see Elena run into the room, her magic scepter was held tightly in her hand.

Her long hair had fallen loose from her elegant bun. Her crown was so lopsided on her head that it looked like it would fall off at any moment. The bottom half of her dress had been completely ripped off to her knees and she had a cut on her arm.

And she was alive.

Mateo felt his heart lurch as they immediately ran towards each other, meeting in the middle as he wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck and crushed each other into a tight embrace.

Mateo breathed a sigh a relief and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Elena pulled back and gave him an unexpectedly hard and chaste kiss that their teeth clacked a little. But Mateo knew that she was saying ‘Thank god you’re okay’ as he gripped her waist tighter.

"You’re not hurt are you?” She then asked in alarm as she began inspecting him.

Mateo had almost forgotten he had gotten rid of his red jacket once things had started going from bad to worse, leaving him in his linen shirt. Which when he looked down, he realized was covered in red blotchy stains.

“Yes! Yes I’m fine,” He assured her, putting his hands on top of hers. “I got thrown into a catering table that had raspberry filled pan danes and strawberry frescas on it.”

“Elena! Mateo!” Namoi’s voice called out as she, Gabe, and one other solider ran up to the couple, all of them in equally rough states as Elena and Mateo.

“Did you manage to catch anyone?” Elena said in her formal, commanding tone, though she didn’t move out of Mateo’s arms.

“I’m afraid to report that there are no signs of the intruders,” Gabe replied in his own Captain-of-the-Guards tone, most likely since he was in the presence of his subordinate. “But the good news is that everyone seems unhurt, minus some small injuries, and almost all of the reported stolen items have already been found.”

“How did they even get into the palace?” Mateo asked.

“That is something I would like to know as well Lieutenant Marco,” Gabe said firmly to the young solider who had only joined ranks a year ago. This had also been his first big task in hopes to show his potential as a future Commander. Mateo couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy.

The young man swallowed hard and saluted stiffly. “I can assure you sir, that the baskets and boxes they were hiding in were counted for and on the list wedding gifts.”

Gabe looked like he was about to launch into one of his cutthroat lectures before Naomi cut in.

“On the list? That sounds awfully familiar Captain.”

Gabe paused briefly before he let out an exasperated sigh. “You are excused, Lieutenant. You are to join the other team’s in searching Castle to see if we can find any other evidence and put this place on lockdown.”

“Yes sir!” Lieutenant Marco said loudly before he ran out of the room with a surprising amount of speed.

“That kids still got a lot to learn,” Gabe said, his former authoritativeness gone as his shoulders also relaxed. 

“It was surprise attack, we’ve been hit with a lot worse,” Mateo tried to reassure his friend, who no doubt was starting to feel guilty about letting this happen on his watch. But Mateo didn’t regret having Gabe up their with him as his best man. “And they were able to act quickly and efficiently when they went after the guest’s jewelry.”

“They were trying to steal my scepter as well,” Elena said. “When I went to my room to retrieve it, one of the thieves was in my room trying to leave with it. Thankfully, as soon as I got a hand on it, he got distracted by the glow and scattered the first time I yelled _blaze_.”

“Wait,” Naomi interjected. “Only one of the thieves?”

“Yes. As far as I could tell.” Elena released Mateo and took a step towards her friend. “What are you thinking?”

“Well, if Gabe says that almost all of the stolen items are still in the castle, then it is possible that scepter is what they were aiming for the whole time.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I’ve seen similar situations from Merchant ships that had been attacked by Pirates.” Naomi began stroking her chin. “And think about it: if their intention was to rob us completely blind, then why didn’t they just go to the guest rooms or to any part of the castle we weren’t in. And, so far it seems like all the bandits were stationed here and attacked the Ballroom, yet this one guy specifically went out of his way to go to your room and grab your scepter. Seems like more work and a riskier move than what it would be worth.”

“You have a point. But it’s MY royal scepter, there’s no way they could use it even if they stole it.” Elena turned to Mateo, “Could they?”

“I haven’t specifically looked into that yet.” A smile then lit up on Mateo’s face, “But I think I know who might be able to answer that question.”

Mateo took a few steps back from the group as he unsheathed his tamborita.

“Appear to us, Animal Spirits of Elena and Mateo!” Mateo said in a booming voice, “ _Illuminara Elena y Mateo Wayohel!_ ”

Mateo hit his tamborita and a blue smoke sprung from the floor with the familiar faces of the Fox Zuzo and Sloth Cacahuate appearing from it.

“Congratulations!” Both Spirits exclaimed as transparent flower petals exploded everywhere.

Their happy expressions immediately dropped though when they saw the state of their humans and their surroundings.

“Wow, you guys must have had some after party,” Zuzo quipped.

“We didn’t have our wedding,” Elena said, not hiding the bitterness in her voice. “It got crashed by this huge group of Bandits.”

“Oh! I knew I should have crossed all my toes and fingers!” Cacahuate cried in despair.

“But you don’t have any toes or fingers,” Zuzo pointed out.

“I know! I ruined everything!”

“Focus please,” Elena quickly interrupted before Cacahuate could start his downward spiral. “We think that they were trying to take my scepter. I’ve had enemies in the past who’ve tried to fight against it’s magic or just try to take away my magic. But no ones ever tried to just steal the scepter from me before. Is there any reason they could want it?”

“Well it is a powerful, magical object, so there is definitely some appeal there.” Zuzo said as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke before reappearing right by Elena. “And remember before it was the Avalor Royal Scepter, it used to be the magic scepter for the Maruvian Royal Wizard.”

“Mateo here might even be able to use in times of crisis,” Cacahuate said as he flew over to Mateo, “Especially since he was able to master the Crystal Tamborita.”

Mateo was actually surprised by this. While he had entertained the idea of using the Scepter of Night years ago, he had never thought about using Elena’s Scepter. As she had said, it was hers.

“Do you remember anything about the thief?” Mateo then asked. “Were they a Malvago?”

Elena shook her head. “I don’t think so, he didn’t use any magic, but while I was trying to grab my scepter, he did call this the Scepter of Light and said he needed for a greater purpose that I wouldn’t understand. And…” Elena suddenly trailed off as she caught Mateo’s eyes.

Mateo eyebrows scrunched in confusion as Elena’s eyes widened and her mouth gaped slightly. He was about to ask the reason for her sudden silence, but she quickly continued.

“And, his face was covered, so I only saw his eyes. Which I’m pretty sure were hazel.”

“Not a whole lot to go off of,” Naomi stated.

“I know what you can do!” Zuzo exclaimed. “You can summon Kin!”

“Zuzo no!” Cacahuate cried out.

“Ken?” Gabe said confused.

“Not Ken, Kin,” Mateo corrected. “The old Maruvian Solar Deity.”

“And he’s also the one who helped create the Scepter of Light,” Zuzo added.

“I can summon Deities?” Elena said dumbfounded as she looked at her scepter in awe.

“Well, only just him since he was the creator.” Zuzo disappeared again before reappearing above Mateo. “It’s kind of like the way Mateo can summon us fabulous spirit guides. And if you can summon him, he will be able to answer one question that can be anything you want to know.”

“Why don’t I just asked Quita Moz then,” Elena said. “I mean, he is the Oracle.”

“He is. But he is only given messages when absolutely necessary through the flames. And the one who also sends him those messages tends to be the Gods, since they are all seeing and all knowing.”

“Why haven’t you told me this before?” Elena asked a little annoyed as she placed a hand on her hip.

“Because you weren’t strong enough to attempt such an advanced level of magic,” Zuzo said matter-of-factly. “And you tend to jump into things once you know about it.”

“He’s got a point,” Naomi added wryly.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” Cacahuate interjected before he flew over to Elena. “Be warned though your Majesty, knowing the future or even the past can be very dangerous knowledge, so be careful.”

The room felt like in dropped a few degrees with that ominous yet true statement.

“Anyways, let me know when you try this wedding for round two! The wedding gift I got you two is kind of non-refundable!” Zuzo said cheerily.

“And I’ll go out a dozen Milagros for good luck!” Cacahuate said, for once, with a light-hearted attitude. “Actually…maybe I should make that 200.”

And without another word, the Chanuls vanished in one more magnificent cloud of magical smoke.

At first, no one said anything. Most likely from all of them trying to process the excess of new knowledge they had just gained, and also most likely from all of them starting to feel fatigued as they came down from their battle-fueled adrenaline rush.

“I don’t think we should make an rash decisions right now,” Naomi began with. “Its been a stressful day for us all.”

“She’s right,” Gabe said. “Our families are waiting for us in the music room, and I suggest we make sure everyone is okay and proceed from there.”

"I agree with all that,” Elena said as she looped her arms through Mateo’s. “We’ll also need extra posting outside everyone’s rooms tonight, and I will be staying with Mateo tonight is the Royal Wizard Quarters.”

Everyone looked temporarily taken aback, Mateo included, before nodding and heading out of the Ballroom. While it wasn’t exactly a secret that Elena and him had slept in each other’s rooms many nights before, they usually tried to not bring out right attention to it since they weren’t married yet. And thanks to those Bandits, they still weren’t.

“Are you okay?” Mateo asked in a hushed tone as they trailed a few steps behind their friends.

“As much as I can be,” She said dryly before putting her head on his shoulder. “I really wanted to be able to call you my husband by tonight. I spent so much time planning and setting up to officially make my room our room.”

So there was a reason she wanted to spend tonight in the Royal Wizard Quarters.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Mateo began. “I already consider my wife _mi amor_ , in body and soul, and I can’t wait to see what you’ve done.”

A smile twitched on Elena’s lips as she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and then whispered in his ear, “I need to ask you something tonight…please.”

The unexpected way her voice sounded so timid and slightly pleading made Mateo swallow thickly. He truthfully could only think about silently crawling into bed with Elena and cuddling with her until he hopefully could fall into a somewhat peaceful sleep. But if she needed something, he would stay up all night and even the next day if need be.

“Of course,” Mateo said as he rested his head on top of hers, “Remember, I’m here for you, no matter what.”


	5. Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprisingly, this was the first Eleteo writing I ever did, but never finished until much much later!
> 
> In fact, I remember I started writing this when @pizzansunshine was doing her Kissing Prompts requests. And I decided to put the prompts in a random number generator to stretch my writing muscles again and got “In the moonlight” and “Need.” So I also put a cut because of the rated T ‘canoodling.’

Mateo stretched his arms high above his head as he exited out of his workshop, the painting door closing securely behind him.

He had been working so painstakingly on some new potions from the _Codex Maru_ , that he didn’t even realize almost an entire two days had passed until Lusia had come with some of her famous tamales, fussing about how he was working himself too hard and looked even thinner than usual.

Mateo sheepishly apologized to the older woman, and promised that he would eat and head to his room to get some rest.

His late night and one-track mind work schedule wasn’t anything new, but Elena usually was the one who would come by and remind him to get some sleep and the importance of taking a break. Wrapping her arms around his middle and burying her face in the crook of his neck to further convince him. Not that she needed to.

It was then that Mateo realized that he hadn’t seen Elena for a couple of days now. Which, again, was nothing entirely new.

This first year of being the new and officially crowned Queen of Avalor had come with a slew of responsibilities, one’s that they both knew she couldn’t avoid. Not to mention that Mateo’s plans to establish a new magic guild here in Avalor was finally making headway and getting off the ground.

They had openly discussed what would happen if they were to take their relationship to the next level right after Elena had just become Queen. And while there could be just as many cons as there were pros, the biggest one would be that they would be denying something that felt so right and natural for them. And that alone was enough for them to take that leap of faith.

And as if the old Maruvian Gods were listening, Mateo rounded the corner of a hallway and caught sight of the very Queen he had been thinking of. Elena’s back was turned to him as she was completely engrossed in some scroll that she was reading. But Mateo’s heart immediately began to race and a smile stretched across his lips.

“Elena.”

She instantly came to a halt and spun around to him. Her eyes softening at the sight of him.

Without any hesitation, Elena came towards him, and Mateo automatically opened his arms to receive a hug from her. But, she avoided that all together and grabbed one of his outstretched arms instead. Elena dragged him to one of the large windows; and once they were directly in front of it, she pulled the massive curtains shut, trapping them between it and the window.

Mateo was about to ask what she was doing, but was cut off when she grabbed the front of his wizard robes and pulled him into a heated kiss.

He only hesitated for a second before he wholeheartedly returned her affections, his hands automatically finding their way to her slender hips.

Mateo pushed Elena up against the cool glass pane, pressing into her so there wasn’t any space between them as he hitched one of her legs up to his hip.

She giggled as one of her hands slipped down from his neck and into the back of his robes so that she could touch his bare skin. Goosebumps erupted everywhere her fingertips touched.

They had certainly come a long way from the shy, nervous kisses they shared in the beginning of their courtship. Heck, even their actual first kiss had barely been a kiss at all, just an accidental brushing of their lips from their heads turning towards each other in just the right way. But enough of a spark had sprung from that touch to put everything about their relationship into a new perspective.

Now here they were ‘canoodling,’ as his mother embarrassingly called it, in a spot that could easily be discovered by anyone, but certainly didn’t put a damper on the mood as they continued kissing with something so desperate and animalistic mixed into it. Their biting and clawing even made him think like they were acting more like two wrestling jaquins. Which thanks to his shapeshifting potion, he knew exactly how that felt.

They came together for one more hard and deep kiss before the initial passion and fiery need for one another was out of their system. They parted, but did not separate far from each other as they touched their burning foreheads together and took deep, heaving breaths.

Elena gazed at him with dreamy, half-lidded eyes, her cheeks flushed and lips bruised with the glow of the evening light haloing around her. Whether it was under sunlight or moonlight, she still looked so beautiful that it made his heart ache.

“Hi,” She then said simply.

“Hi to you as well,” Mateo happily replied. “How was your day today?”

“So-so,” Elena said with a shrug. “Sometimes those hours of sitting in silence with paperwork makes me long for the days when I would have to endure Esteban droning on and on in Council meetings.”

“Ouch, that bad,” Mateo said as he wrapped his arms around her in a far more gentler manner compared to earlier.

Elena seemed to appreciate the soft embrace as she moved her head to rest it on his shoulder. Her warm breath hit against his neck, causing him to squirm a little. But Mateo made no advancements, so as to not ruin his Queen’s serene state, and instead wrapped a lock of her silky hair around his finger. He loved having opportunities to do this small, intimate gesture.

“Alright, I feel re-energized,” Elena then abruptly declared as she stepped away from Mateo and began readjusting her dress and hair. “I need to go finish some letters to Val.”

Mateo couldn’t help but laugh. “So you were just using me for my body then?”

Elena rolled her eyes at his roguish comment and pressed a gentle kiss on his cheek before she whispered in his ear, “Come back to my room with me.”

Mateo felt his blood run hot. “I thought you had things to do? Not really the time to get distracted.”

“I know, that’s for next time,” Elena said coyly as she played with the strings on his robe. “But for now, go sleep in my bed and I’ll join you when I’m done. The most important thing is that I want to be able to wake up next to you tomorrow.”

The sweet sentiment touched Mateo. Of course, he knew from past camping trips and the more recent naps they had been taking together in the library that he would be awake long before her in the morning. Good thing he had developed a love for watching her peaceful sleeping face.

“What if we get found out?”

“I think the maids are too used to finding your bed empty and untouched too often by this point to ask a lot of questions.” Mateo couldn’t argue with her there. “Besides, I know this castle’s secrets better than anyone else. I can have you out of my bedroom and even back in your workshop without a trace of you to be found.”

Mateo smiled as he grabbed her hand and pulled the window curtain open. She was making it seem like she was the only one who desperately needed them to not leave each other’s side. But, the truth was he wanted them to be together tonight just as much, or maybe even a little more.

“Who am I then to reject the orders of _mi amor_?”


	6. Unexpected Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another possible way I envision could happen if we were ever to meet Mateo's mysterious father!

_‘Son.’_

_‘Stop…just stop.’_

_But–’_

_‘I’m not your son,’ Mateo seethed. ‘I’m **hers**.’_

Mateo could still feel his heartbeat slamming against his rib-cage at the memory of what had just happened only minutes ago.

He was pretty sure that man had tried to say something else, after he took a few moments to recover from Mateo’s verbal cut, but by that point, Mateo had already turned and stormed out of the Council meeting room.

What did he expect!?

That he could just show up out of no where after 18 years and everything would be okay!

A fresh wave of anger washed over Mateo as his nails bit into the soft flesh of his palm and he picked up his pace. He had no destination in mind, some instinctual part of him was just telling him to move fast and to get away.

Self-preservation, its what his family was best at. No matter the cost.

“Mateo!”

Mateo stopped dead in his tracks and immediately turned towards the source. The sound of her voice tended to have that effect on him.

Elena quickly descended down the stairs, clutching her dress’s skirt high as she finally caught up to him.

“You’re supposed to be the calm and collected one, and I’m the one who’s supposed to make bold statements and dramatic exits,” She said in a breathless voice.

“I don’t know if I can be that right now,” He admitted, running a rough hand through his curls.

Elena bit her lip before she pulled on his arm. “Come on then.”

She led the two of them down the hall to her bedroom. Once the door was closed securely behind them, Mateo felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. Another natural reaction his body now had when it was just the two of them alone, away from the craziness of the world and the peering eyes and ears of the castle.

Mateo decided to take refuge at the closest wall, leaning against it and crossing his arms tightly.

Elena didn’t say anything for a few minutes, choosing to let him sit in his silence and calm down while she went over and sat down on the edge of her bed.

When he finally let out an exasperated sigh and let his arms drop, she spoke.

“You know you are going to have to talk to him.”

“I know,” He replied back bluntly. “But it doesn’t have to be today, does it?”

“You might have to,” Elena said, a hint of sympathy in her voice. “You don’t even know the reason he’s here.”

Mateo nervously rung his hands together. He really wanted to tell her how he had spent so much of his life thinking about all the reasons his father wasn’t around, since his mother had been so tight lipped about the whole situation. And how it wasn’t until he was 10 years old that he finally made a pact with himself to not waste anymore time thinking about where his father could be, and instead bury himself in studying magic.

But that was a long story better suited to tell her during one of their late night rendezvous, when they would sneak into the library with warm cups of _Champurrado_ and a roaring fire to sit in front of.

“I really did want to ask him that, when he first said he was my father and pulled back his hood.” Mateo clenched his jaw. “But then suddenly I was reverted to that poor, sad, fatherless kid that I used to be and, I couldn’t think straight, and I just wanted to get out of there as fast as I could.”

Mateo pushed himself off the wall and paced around the room, that flight instinct rising up again. He wore a good line into the tiled floor before he stopped in front of Elena.

“What did you think when he said that?”

Elena adverted her gaze from him.

“Honestly, I was too shocked at first. And then when I finally had a good look at him, the only thing I could think was how I was looking into a mirror of what you’ll look like in the future.” Elena then pushed her hair back behind her ear, something she only did when she was feeling bashful.

Mateo couldn’t help it as his cheeks burned a little at the implication of that gesture.

“Well when I’m his age and I have my own kids, I’ll make sure that they’ve grown up never have known the feeling of being without a father,” Mateo said, it was the first time he had actually spoken those words out loud. “My relatives and I have suffered this fractured family curse for too long.”

“I know exactly how you feel,” Elena assured him. “You are never too young or too old to have that want and need for your parent’s love and support. And my kids should only know that sadness when I’ve died peacefully in my own bed as a very old woman.“

Their eyes met and they shared a knowing smile.

Mateo was always grateful for the friends and support he currently had in his life. But as much as he relied on Gabe and Naomi, there were just some intimates things he could only tell Elena since they shared many similar experiences, both good and bad.

“Better not let your mother know about that ‘kids’ comment though,” Elena then teased.

Mateo chuckled as he finally walked over and sat on the bed beside her. “Tell me about it, every time I go over for dinner on Sundays, all she can talk about is she wouldn’t feel so lonely if she had some grandkids to take care of–”

Mateo halted. Oh gods. His mom.

Did his mom even know that his father was here!?

“Mateo…” Elena said in a soft and comforting tone, pulling him back before he could begin to spiral.

After a few quiet seconds, Mateo looked up to see her give him a small sad smile. Without another word, Elena opened up her arms to him with a warm and glowing aura surrounding her.

Mateo was grateful that he was already sitting down as he felt his knees go weak. He leaned forward and hugged her tightly.

Her spicy scent of cinnamon and rose overwhelmed him as he buried his face into her shoulder and even let a few small tears escape his tightly closed eyes. 

Mateo was afraid that he was putting too much of his weight on Elena. But she was strong, and didn’t waiver in the slightest as she began rubbing soothing circles on his back.

Mateo begged the old Maruvian gods to let nothing ruin the spell of this moment. He promised them that he would stand tall and face against his father and the demons of his past.

But he first needed just a few more minutes in the arms of his princess. To absorb and collect her strength, and made it his own.

He just wanted five more minutes.


	7. Outlander AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was for last year's Eleteo Appreciation week on Discord for the theme of Angst

It was a beautiful and clear night in Avalor. 

The stars dazzled so marvelously and stretched for so many miles, that many poets and lovers would claim that tonight was the night for magic and romance.

It was unfortunate then, that the incredible scenery wasn’t doing anything to improve the tense atmosphere around a particular couple that were camping out for the night in one of the old Maruvian Temples.

“I won’t do it,” Elena declared. It was the first time she had spoken in almost an hour.

“Elena–” Mateo began as he threw the stick he had been tightly twisting in his hands into the crackling campfire.

“No, I don’t want another logical approach!” Elena yelled as she jumped to her feet. “I don’t want to leave you behind.”

“We’ve been over this–”

“And we’ll keep going over it until we reach a compromise that we both agree on,” Elena interrupted again.

“There is never going to be a compromise that you’ll agree with,” Mateo said as he frustratingly rubbed his hands over his face.

“So?”

“So, you don’t even know if I survive this upcoming battle or even this whole war.”

Elena huffed as she went to adjust her corset and chemise so she could at least breathe a little easier. You would think after being stuck in the 1700’s for several months, she would at least have been more used to the clothes by now.

“There’s a lot about history that I didn’t pay attention to,” Elena shot back. “Plus, most recordings about this war were destroyed later on, so it doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything that says–”

“And what happens if I am supposed to die!?” Mateo exclaimed, his eyes narrowed in a way she had only seen a few times. “I can’t leave you alone…not with our baby.”

One word. All it took was that one word, and Elena felt like a knife had been stabbed through her heart.

“You still have family in your own time,” Mateo continued, taking advantage of her unusual speechlessness. “A time where diseases can be cured in a second and catastrophic disasters aren’t brewing constantly. It will be safe for both of you.”

“Please stop talking,” Elena spat out fiercely as she took a few steps away from him, enough so that she stood at the edge of their shelter. 

A cold gust of air blew up the cliffs face and bit into her skin hard. Elena wrapped her arms around herself and looked to the hill across the way from them. The hill where the large statue of Quita Moz sat at the top of it. 

The statue she had dared to touch back in her own time, where it had been nothing but a crumbling and chipped attraction with an urban myth attached to it that tourists or graduate students like herself could admire and gawk at.

Her hands then moved down to rest on her belly.

There was so much she wished was different right now.

She wished she hadn’t been captured and held hostage by Fiero. She should of just stayed in the troops camp like she was supposed to.

She wished she hadn’t told Mateo the truth about who she really was and where she was from.

And, in all honesty, she really wished she had remembered to drink her barbosa root tea after the very long and very passionate night they had spent together. She had remembered to drink it the many times before. But they had just been…so happy to be reunited.

And now, it was that mistake that was ultimately the thing that was tearing them apart.

Just the thought of it made Elena’s hard façade crack instantly, as tears began pouring out of her eyes and spilling down her cheeks in thick trails. Sobs kept getting stuck in her throat that she was gasping and choking for air.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and swiveled around to face Mateo.

Tears and distress already deeply marked his features, but his eyes were much redder than hers and his nose was running more.

He had been crying in silence the whole time her back had been turned.

Elena practically fell into his arms as her heart shattered more, her nails digging deep into his back and her full weight was now supported by him. 

The support didn’t last long though as his knees buckled up and they fell to the ground together in a horrid heap of limbs and tears.

Mateo grabbed her thin frame though and pulled her up so that she sat in his lap with his arms securely wrapped around her.

Now, in the protection of his arms and the familiarness of his scent of citrus and spices, Elena was finally able to let out her burning wails into the fabric of his shirt.

Mateo still remained much quieter than her, but his body greatly lurched with every sobbing hiccup he let out.

They remained that way until they felt there was practically nothing left in them. Leaving behind only a great deal of emotional and physical exhaustion. Even then, neither of them said a word, causing the air to instead be filled with the sound of chirping crickets and the almost musical sound the wind made when it swept through the ruins down below.

In the end, Mateo was the first one to speak.

“Elena, I know that I’m nothing more than a healer and an amateur alchemist with some old family land to my name,” He began. “And I know you married me because you had to–”

“I may have married you for your family’s protection from Shuriki, but I fell in love with you Mateo De Alva. The kind, sweet, smart, and gentle man I’ve known since the moment I met you.” Elena grabbed his face with both hands and placed a hard, sloppy kiss on his lips. “Don’t you dare ever forget that.”

A fresh tear slid out of Mateo’s eye as he pulled her in for another bone-crushing embrace.

“I am so so so happy that last time you had a choice, you chose me,” Mateo said in a trembling tone. “But now, you have to go back. You said that you would have a job offered for you, a job to help orphaned children all over the world. So you must go back, fight for it, and begin that career, I know you will get it regardless. Create a better world for our child there while I do it here.”

He was right. He had always been right about this whole argument, and the rational part of Elena had agreed with it from the very beginning.

Even though she would be leaving behind Mateo, Gabe, Naomi, and so many others in this time; she still had her abuelo and abuela waiting for her. Not to mention Isa. 

Oh god, she had promised her she would be there for her graduation no matter what.

God damn it though, if not every part of her still wanted to change fate or the truth, whatever it took so that she and everyone could be happy and together.  
But that wasn’t possible. At least, not right now.

“We still have tonight, _mi amor_ …” She then croaked out, fresh pain threatening to already break through.

Elena hastily pushed Mateo so that he fell flat on his back, maybe a little harder than she had wanted to. She clasped their hands together, their wedding rings shined brightly as they were tangled side-by-side. 

She crashed their lips together into a hard and needy kiss. And she dared not let them part until it was absolutely necessary for them to have air.

“Elena–” Mateo warned breathlessly, a long protest no doubt already on his lips.  
“Please,” Elena begged, placing two fingers on his lips to silence him. “I just want to remember every part of you.”

Mateo’s Adam’s apple bobbed deeply, a million thoughts and emotions flashing through his bright hazel eyes.

After a few more seconds passed, he then nodded as he placed his arm under her legs and lifted her up. He slowly carried her in his arms back over to their fire.

He cradled her head gently as he laid her down on their sleeping mat that had been set up beside it. In an instant, he was on top of her and kissing her deeply.  
Even this, Elena knew, could be another mistake. Something that would only make their goodbye tomorrow that much harder.

But to hell with it, she wanted to be selfish and to truly love her husband for as long as she could as they began pulling and grabbing at each others clothes, hair, skin. Really anything they could get their hands on in the moment, making it impossible to tell where one of them ended and the other began.

To most that really knew her, they would have found it absurd that she agree to such a black-and-white decision. And they would be right to be suspicious.

Elena would comply with Mateo…for now. 

Because as soon as she found confirmation that he had survived this war, which she knows in her heart he did, she would find her way back to him, with their child on her hip and a promise to never part from each other again.


	8. Rock Band AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another entry for last year Eleteo Appreciation Week for the theme of Music!

If there was something Elena could say was a downside to the Rockstar lifestyle, it was definitely getting the mountains of caked on makeup scrubbed off with a metal brush after a photoshoot.

Don’t get her wrong, she loved the experience of getting all dressed up and posing in front of the camera, especially with her lucky guitar. But it had taken her three hours to finally get all cleaned up and dressed down to her usual leggings and hoodie.

At least today’s photoshoot had been in their building’s basement that also held their personal dance studio and recording booths. Made the painful elevator ride to their penthouse condo up on the top floor more bearable.

And that also meant that her part was done for today.

_Rolling Stones_ had wanted to do a complete cover story on _Core Four_ , seeing how they were celebrating their 10th anniversary of the formation of their band.

Being the lead singer and guitarist meant that Elena’s interview and pictures would be taken first, while everyone else got to have the day off. It was a lot sometimes to be the face of the band, but that also meant she would have the next 3 days off while her bandmates got to go through the same grueling task she did.

The merciful sound of the Elevator dinged, opening up to home sweet home.

Elena expected everyone to already be in bed and asleep, which is why the sound of a ticking metronome surprised her greatly.

Elena looked around the room and saw a pair of feet hanging over the side of the couch in the living room area.

Curious, she walked over to see who was still up at this hour.

It turned out to be Mateo; who was knocked out, with sheets of music covering his chest and stomach and his drumsticks hanging out of his limp hand.

Elena smiled as she smoothed back some of his curls, recalling the memories of seeing him in this exact same position on Gabe’s retro couch that they had set up in Mateo’s basement. Back when they were a couple of crazy teenagers with some garbage songs that they played at talent shows and coffee shop open mic nights.

It was nice to see some things hadn’t changed.

Elena felt a feral grin grow on her lips as she jumped over the back of the couch and landed right on top of him.

“Oof!” Mateo wheezed out as his eyelids shot open.

His groggy, hooded eyes then began frantically looking around before settling on her, “Elena?”

“Morning _mi amor_ ,” Elena said in a sickly sweet tone as she readjusted herself to comfortably straddle his hips more.

“Couldn’t you have woken me up more gently?” Mateo groaned as he covered his face with his arms and tried to turn away from her. He really was too used to her antics.

“Oh I’m sorry,” Elena apologized innocently as her hands slid up and down his chest. “Where does it hurt?”

“Everywhere,” He replied dramatically.

“Hmm, should I kiss it better?”

Elena didn’t even wait for him to reply though before she began peppering any visible part of his face and neck with kisses.

He was resistant at first, but she could tell when he started into it as he let out little breathy moans and his hands moved to rest on her hips. She was about to put her hands underneath his shirt when the floorboards let out a large creak.

The couple quickly tore apart and looked around to see if Naomi or Gabe or some other unsuspecting victim had wandered into the scene. Luckily enough, there was no one. This time.

“We should move this somewhere else,” Mateo said as he rubbed his eyes.

“I suppose,” Elena sighed as she scooched herself over and began picking the now wrinkled pieces of paper off him.

As she was straightening them out, she noticed that they were pieces of sheet music, which was not surprising. However, upon closer inspection, she recognized the lyrics written on them were from a poem she had given Mateo on a Starbucks napkin a couple of weeks ago.

“I wanted to finish it and give it to you as a gift,” Mateo then said bashfully as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I haven’t forgotten our own anniversary coming up soon.”

Elena beamed as she launched herself at him, knocking him back onto his back. “I love it.”

“It’s not even finished,” He laughed.

“I still love it.” Elena looked back at the half finished song, her heart swelling so much it practically burst out of her chest.

She bit her lip before continuing. “But…I think it will be better as a duet.”

Mateo didn’t respond.

“You don’t want to?”

“Of course I do,” Mateo said as he wrapped his arms around her. “I just know how tempting it would be, because if we made it a duet, then I would want to share the song with the whole world. I already want to scream it from the rooftops that I’m with an incredible girl like you.”

“Well, maybe it’s time that we share with the whole world we are together,” Elena said confidently.

He talked about yelling it out, and she certainly wanted to do that same. Although, she would also be content with just being able to instagram their hundreds of adorable couple photos, or to be each other’s dates at red carpet events, or openly gush about the small little things he did for her in interviews.

“Is it something you feel ready for?” Mateo asked as he grabbed her chin and moved it up so that they were now making eye contact.

“I mean, we already have a pretty supportive fanbase based on #Eleteo that I see everywhere.”

“I’m being serious _mi querida_ ,” Mateo said, poking her in the side.

It’s not like she didn’t know where this cautious attitude was coming from. They had gotten together not long after the band had finally hit the big times. From there, their lives had been on a roller coaster of record deals, concerts, tours, music videos, small acting roles, clothing lines, and even a makeup line.

It just never felt like the right time to let everyone in on one of the most personal and intimate part of their lives, especially since some tabloids and more rabid fans/haters would rather make that decision for them.

It would be a huge decision in the end. But it wasn’t one that was hard for her to make.

“I don’t think we’re 110% ready, but I don’t think we ever will feel we are,” Elena said, holding his hand tightly. “But I do think that we are strong enough to survive whatever is thrown our way.”

Mateo again didn’t respond right away, but she knew he agreed with her from the wide smile and gentle look in his eyes.

He then leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Okay, let’s do this then, together.”

Elena eagerly replied with her own kiss on his nose before snuggling into his warmth.

“Are you hungry at all?” He then asked, playing with her hair.

“I’ll get something in a minute, I just want to be here for a while,” Elena mumbled into his chest, getting lost in the sound of his rhythmic heartbeat.

She would talk to Esteban tomorrow. The pretentious manager had already been talking about the band going through some small changes, having their image grow up a little, and presenting that during their group interview that would take place at the end of the week.

And, for once, he was right. The days of songs of teenage rebellion, following your dreams, and even first loves were the past. It was time for songs about accepting your failures, relying on the deep friendships you had formed, and finding a love that could last a lifetime.


	9. Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My 2019 Valentine's Day entry with a Modern AU twist!

Valentine’s Day, a day where it takes at least an hour to get into any restaurant and every major store is decked out to the nines in red and hearts, with last minute shoppers grabbing gifts.

But it was always worth it for that special someone.

Well, it would be if you weren’t a first year Engineering student like Mateo De Alva; who was currently hunched over his History textbook, trying to review yesterday’s materials, while his stomach let out a large growl.

Mateo groaned as his forehead landed with a thud on the thick book.

And here he had thought ordering a pizza for one would’ve been a quick and easy dinner, considering he had already devoured all the chocolate his mami had sent him, along with a very loving and passive aggressive Valentines card.

Some of his buddies from University had invited him out to celebrate the holiday together, go to a bar and maybe even pick up some girls. But that wasn’t really Mateo’s scene. Even after moving out and slowly leaving behind the awkward teenager he had been, he still enjoyed being in more quiet and intimate settings.

Besides, it was hard to enjoy down time when he had an exam coming up soon in one of his less than stellar subjects. Now if it would have been Calculus, his best subject by far…he still probably wouldn’t have gone out. So, he would take the texts and jokes about being alone on Valentine’s Day and would trudge on.

He then felt something rub against his calf.

“Alright Dulce, I’ll get you your food,” Mateo said as he reached down and scratched behind his Egyptian Mau’s ears.

The cat began purring and looked up at him with her wide bright eyes.

Mateo smiled as he made his way over to the kitchen and poured out her food. He expected her to come running over and scarf it down like she usually did, especially since he had been putting her on a diet after she started looking chunky.

Except she didn’t. In fact, she wasn’t even in the kitchen, and was instead standing by the living room window. She had been doing that a lot today Mateo realized. Maybe she missed the breeze that would come through the opening of the window that didn’t close all the way. Thankfully though the landlord had finally come this morning and fixed it, considering the window let out to the fire escape, and Mateo would rather not have what little he owned stolen while he was away.

Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on his door.

“Armando’s Pizza,” A bored voice called out.

‘Finally,’ Mateo thought as he pulled out his wallet and opened the front door.

The teenager standing there looked highly unpleasant as he loudly smacked his gum. At least the pizza was inside a box and Mateo was on the verge of starvation.

Mateo was about to hand him a $20 when he saw a blur out of the corner of his eye.

“Dulce!” Mateo exclaimed as he pushed passed the delivery guy and tore down the hallway after his escaped cat.

“Hey man, come get your food!”

Mateo ignored him though, instead solely focusing on Dulce as he followed her down a couple flights of stairs and into the basement that held the on-site laundry facility.

Once he got down to the very bottom and flicked on the lights though, Dulce was nowhere to be found, causing Mateo to spend the next couple of minutes briskly looking for her.

Where on earth did she go?

“Migs!” A female voice then called out, followed by frantic footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Oh Mateo.”

“Hey Elena.”

Elena was his neighbor who lived in one of the nicer apartments on the higher floor. He had seen her around campus and was also known as her ‘laundry buddy’ since they spent every Sunday night here washing their clothes, chitchatting, and making sure their stuff didn’t get stolen.

Man, even in sweatpants and an old crop top did she look good.

“Have you seen a cat at all?” She then asked in a panic-stricken tone. “He’s a big Egyptian Mau that’s about 2 years old and I thought I saw him come this way.”

Mateo’s eyes widen, “Actually, I’m also looking for–”

A loud meow pierced the air.

The two of them made eye contact and followed the sound to a far corner of the room, right behind a broken and unused washer. They peered over the back and gasped.

Migs and Deluce were together…along with three little kittens nestled between them that couldn’t have been more than a week old.

“Well…that definitely explains a few things,” Mateo remarked, feeling slightly guilty for how oblivious he had been.

“Aren’t you the little tomcat Migs, sneaking out for your girl and kids,” Elena playfully jabbed at her pet before turning to Mateo. “Guess this also makes us family now.”

Mateo wondered why such a ridiculous statement would make his heart skip a beat.

“We better take them up to my apartment and get them set up there,” Mateo hastily said as he slowly reached for the kittens and passed two of them to Elena. “They can’t be too comfortable here in the cold basement on someone’s old towel.”

“I don’t think Migs will want to leave them though, is it alright if I get him set up in your place too?”

“Of course, you can stay as long as you like,” Mateo replied as he securely held the last kitten to his chest. He then silently made a mental note in his head to check if there was anything incriminating or embarrassing that he would need to quickly hide away.

“You probably shouldn’t have said that.” Elena buried her face in the fur of the kittens she held in her hand, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to part with these cuties.”

Mateo laughed at her childish tone and expression, “You can at least stay over for dinner, I just ordered–”

He was then reminded of the not so friendly looking delivery guy and the fact he ran away without paying him.

“On second thought, I may have actually just lost my dinner.”

Elena giggled, “I’ll cover dinner then, my abuela keeps pushing leftovers and snacks on me every time I go visit, I honestly can’t eat it all or I might explode.”

“I hear you there,” Mateo agreed, thinking about to his mami’s Valentines card, and how the very bottom had mentioned she would be sending a box of groceries soon, even though he insisted he went shopping every week.

“It will also give us plenty of time to discuss the custody of our grandkids here,” Elena said as she headed up the basement stairs first, with Deluce and Migs following close behind.

“I’m sure will have no problem trading off weeks.” Mateo grinned, “Though we may need to have a serious talk when it comes to splitting up holidays, especially Navidad.”

Elena responded with an adorable snort.

Mateo bit his lip. “By the way, I hope this little incident doesn’t ruin any plans you have for tonight.”

“Honestly, I was only planning on doing the responsible thing and studying for an upcoming exam tonight,” Elena said as she hit the button to call for the elevator, a good idea since Mateo’s lungs still hurt from his earlier workout. “How are you with Calculus by the way?”

Mateo smirked, “I may know a thing or two.”


	10. Pampered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A snippet from Eleteo on their honeymoon! Nothing NSFW happens, but this does take place during bath time, so read at your own discretion!

“I think we used too many bubbles,” Mateo remarked.

Elena shrugged, “I kind of like our foamy kingdom.”

Mateo chuckled as he sunk lower into the warm bath water, of course his wife would like this, she always had a flare for throwing caution to the wind.

Hopefully their gracious hosts of Paraiso would feel the same way when they saw the state of their guest bathroom.

It had been Princess Valentina who had personally extended an invitation to the happy, newly wedded couple, inviting them to her beautiful kingdom for a few days. It was only fair, she had explained in her letter, since she had already visited Avalor. 

Mateo and Elena had been eager to accept the generous offer, still very much in the honeymoon phase of their marital bliss. However, Mateo had failed to realize just what was in store for him on this trip.

Elena and the rest of the Council had told him of the extravagant nature of their neighbors from the stories they had heard and their interactions with the Princess, but Mateo hadn’t quite believed them. Now he wished he had taken their warning a little more seriously.

As soon as they had set foot in Paraiso, Mateo had been practically blinded by the white stone of the Royal Palace that glowed in the sun. And the inside was just as brilliant, filled to the brim with artifacts from all over the world and ornamentally decorated carvings and chandeliers. Not to mention that their guest bedroom was almost twice the size of their royal bedchamber back home.

And since the couple were considered guests of honor, Val went out of her way to spare no expense. She had planned an extensive list of activities for the three of them, and conveniently her companion Manuel, to do. All in style of course.

Mateo liked to think of himself as a humbled man. While he certainly didn’t grow up with an impoverished life, it was still a modest one.

It had already taken him quite some time to get adjusted to the idea that he would spend his days in the _Royal_ Palace as the _Royal_ Wizard, something he had only ever dreamed of. And even after Elena gave her heart to him and he in return, the adjusting of being with the Queen of Avalor was something he was still working on. 

Elena seemed to have the same feelings as him regarding this enthusiastic welcome from the Montanez-Tores family, but was taking it in better strides than him. It’s what she had been raised to do.

Mateo tried putting on a brave face for Elena’s sake, but his discomfort to all the extravagance had been easily noticed by her. After all, nothing regarding him ever got pass her.

So, Elena, his brilliant and smart Elena, had decided that for every chance they got to be alone together, she would turn the overwhelming nature of Paraiso around by finding a way to make it fun.

One evening, the pair were forced to wear some very gaudy and very pink outfits (gifts from Val) to dinner. But, they then spent the better half of the night laughing and trying to get the complicated outfits off each other. Ending with Mateo getting lost in the ribbons and large poofy skirt of Elena’s ballgown. 

Another morning, the large and imposing bed with way too much space, gave them a chance to build a pillow fort on it, where the ended up sharing some very heated kisses under it. 

And now in the large rose marble bathtub that could practically pass as a small swimming pool, they had decided to try almost all of the colorfully assorted bottles of bubble bath and oils, trapping them now in their heavily scented and foamy bubble mess.

Elena then took a large handful of bubbles and blew them in his face. She giggled at his startled reaction, quickly swimming away to avoid retaliation.

Mateo wasted no time though, taking a big breath of air before diving underwater. He easily caught up to her, wrapping his arms around her and reemerging.

She shrieked loudly as he lifted her out of the water, the cold air of the bathroom hitting them hard. Mateo just smiled as he then began mercilessly tickling her side, causing Elena to get even louder as she flailed her legs around, splashing water and bubbles everywhere.

There was suddenly a knock at the door.

“Is everything alright your majesty?” asked the concerned voice of their maid. “Should I come in?”

“No!” Elena hastily exclaimed. “We’re fine, we’re just fine. Thank you!”

“Of course,” the maid replied back, followed by the sound of her retreating footsteps.

The two of them looked at each other before descending into a fit of giggles like two naughty children as Mateo brought them back to the tubs edge and sat them down on one of the benches, so that they were both now chest deep in the water.

“Looks like you’re going to have to behave yourself Elena.”

“Me!?” Elena exclaimed. “You were playing around just as much as I was.”  
Mateo shrugged. “Maybe you’re just a bad influence on me.”

“What a pity that I’m your wife then,” Elena said as she crossed her arms in mock offense.

Mateo chuckled as he placed a kiss on her cheek. 

Her pouting didn’t last long though as her attention then focused on relentlessly smoothing back his wet hair.

“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” Mateo asked, highly amused by the situation.

“Of course!” She said brightly. “You help style my hair every morning, while you just leave your messy curls.”

“I thought you loved my messy curls?”

“I do,” Elena said as she kissed his now bare forehead. “But, I finally have a chance to play with them, and I’m not wasting it.”

Mateo gave her a half bow. “If that is what you wish.”

“It is,” Elena said as she dipped her hands in the water and ran her newly wet fingers through her husband’s hair.

Despite his teasing, Mateo sighed in content and closed his eyes. The way her fingers worked through his strands of hair was so soothing and relaxing. Her nails would also occasionally scrape his scalp, causing a shiver to run down his spine.

He was so lost in the sensation of her hands and her body against his, that he didn’t notice the mischievous smile Elena was now wearing.

It was only until her hands had stopped moving and he felt her body shake from trying to hold back laughter that he opened his eyes.

Elena’s eyes were looking at the top of his hand while she held a hand over her mouth.

Mateo looked behind him to one of the bathrooms many mirrors to notice that his hair was now standing all the way up and spiked out, making him look like a porcupine. Elena lost it and let out the boisterous laugh she had been trying so hard to keep in.

“You little minx!” Mateo exclaimed as he lunged at Elena, knocking them deeper into the water.

“Careful,” Elena quickly warned, pointing to the door. “Don’t want a royal guard busting in here next.”

Mateo narrowed his eyes in defeat and quickly dunked his head back underwater to get rid of his ridiculous hairstyle.

“I’m not going to forget this,” he said, still holding Elena close to him.

“I know you won’t, so you’ll just have to save it for later.” Mateo raised an eyebrow to her. “Do you remember the place you were most excited to see while we were here?”

“ _lluvia de arco iris_?“

Elena nodded, wrapping her arms around Mateo’s neck.

“So I was thinking that maybe when we go up there tomorrow, we ask if we can go explore it by ourselves, leave our clothes on the shore when we get there, and not worry about being seen or heard by anyone.”

Mateo had already been eager with anticipation at the prospect of checking out the famed waterfall, to see if there were indeed magical properties in the water like he had read about. But, the proposal that Elena was making, made him even more excited.

“Should you really be giving me a warning about this?” Mateo asked. “Wouldn’t it be better for you to plan a surprise attack?”

“Oh I don’t really expect you to hold a grudge that long,” Elena said with a sly smile. “Especially if I offer to wash your back for you.”

Mateo pondered this. “Only if you promise to be good this time. Or else I really won’t wait until tomorrow.”

Elena smiled and kissed his nose. “I promise.”


	11. Are you not seeing this!?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a shameless idea I have after I watched "Birthday Cruise" for the first time!

Chloe would have to admit that this was the best birthday she had ever had! She had done and seen so many things that she never imagined would happen, even in her wildest dreams, that she could hardly wait to tell her mother about them!

Perhaps, she should even participate in this year's Regatta races!

The Yacht though gave a sudden lurch as it hit some rough waves and Chloe felt her stomach lurch greatly. 

Or, perhaps she should pace herself.

Still, Chloe couldn't help the large smile across that was stretched across her face as they all had just finished a great set of Norberg jigs. Chloe then took Elena's advice to heart as she invited the other's to show their favorite dances as well.

"Well, there is nothing like that dances in Paraiso," Princess Valentina, or Val as preferred to be called, said rather confidently. Though, Chole didn't miss as Elena leaned in very close and whispered something in Mateo's ear, causing him to chuckle.

"But, even I admit, nothing is quite as beautiful as watching Avalorian couple dances." 

All eyes then turned to the pair. They both seemed to not be perturbed by suddenly being the center of attention as Elena bumped her elbow into Mateo's side in a joking manner.

"Well, my Royal Wizard, shall we give the people want they want?"

Mateo smiled and gave her a great bow. "It would be my honor."

"Oh, it's been so long since I've seen these," Princess Rebecca said excitedly, as the three Princesses took their place on some of the chairs that were lined up the side. Chloe more eager than anyone as she almost bounced at the edge of her seat. She had never seen these kind of dances before.

Elena and Mateo took to the main deck and positioned themselves no different than someone would for a waltz.

"Hey Val, can you get the music for us?" Mateo said, motioning to his tamborita that was beside their chairs.

"Certainly!" Val said, picking up the magical object. Chloe at least knew what would be coming, so she didn't feel as scared as she did earlier.

_"Tlalt-ilitzli!"_

The music though, picked up into a more livelier tune than Chloe had heard for the birthday song, and the couple sprung into action. Their feet began stepping, moving, and sliding across in such a rapid fire pace, but perfectly in-sync as they threw in some twirls too, fully utilizing all their space, that Chloe was instantly captivated.

However, the more the dances went on, the more Chloe started to notice other things. Like how low Mateo's hand was sitting on Elena's hip, guiding it in an almost suggestive movement. Or how Elena had no problem lifting up her leg around him and jumping into his arms. Or the fact neither of them were registering just how close their faces were that they were practically sharing the same air.

Chloe felt a blush creep up, which because of her fair skin usually came out as a bright scarlet color, and looked to her other two companions. But neither Princess seemed perturbed by the dance, and were even keeping tempo by tapping their toes.

While the redhead hadn't always been the best at making friends until...well today actually, she had seen pairs of best friends, and she could safely say that she had never seen any that were this close, literally speaking.

Were Val and Rebecca really not seeing this as well!?

"They are certainly quite the pair," Chloe dropped as casually she could.

"Yes, they bring these dances great respect," Rebecca commented.

That hadn't been quite the answer she had been looing for. So, Chloe then changed her approach as she cleared her throat lightly and tried her best to sound as primly as possible and asked, "And are all these dances in Avalor always so...intimate?" 

That seemed to warrant some reaction as both Rebecca and Val looked at her with perturbed expressions before looking back to the pair with a new perspective.

Elena suddenly fell back intentionally that Chloe felt herself gasp before Mateo caught her hand and had her a low dip. With one great but still elegant pull, he had Elena back up on her feet and flush against him. They both had their eyes closed with Mateo's arm wrapped securely around her waist, while her hand cupped the side of his face and her nose just brushing against his cheekbone.

Chloe felt the need to start fanning herself with her hand.

Rebecca tilted her head and stated diplomatically. "Well...it helps to have great trust and chemistry with your partner for these kind of dances." 

"An awful lot, if I may say so myself." Val noted, a sly smile on her darkly painted lips. 

Chloe then swallowed slightly as she then asked, "Do you think then that they're together? Like **_together_** , together?"

The two girls remained silent, continuing to watch the pair as they began another kind of close Avalorian dance without even stopping before Val was the first to speak.

"She does always mention him in the letter's she sends me."

"And someone did tell me they go all to the Royal functions together," Rebecca stated. "Though, I didn't really think about it at the time. I'm not usually one for gossip."

"Well I am!" Val exclaimed, delighted by this news.

"Do you think we should go ask them?" Chloe asked genuinely, her head turning to look at each Princess.

"No." Both girls replied together, each putting a hand on one of Chloe's shoulders to keep her sitting still as she was no doubt bouncing all over the place from the vigorous movement.

"Matters of the heart should be handled without interference," Val said, waving her hand with an air of dramatics.

"But--"

"If they are meant to be, it's because they'll want to be together," Rebecca said plainly.

Mateo then said something to her that the rest couldn't hear, but it caused Elena to burst out into a fit of giggles, her cheeks pink, but from his comment or the intensity of the dancing Chloe couldn't infuriatingly tell.

"That said, I would wager that they'll be together soon after Elena's Coronation," Val declared. "I think they already know how they feel and there would be nothing holding them back by then."

"I have to disagree." Rebecca interjected, one hand thoughtfully stroking her chin. "I think it will happen in a couple of months. I've been getting to know Elena, and what I've found out is that they put themselves in danger, especially those two. Nothing like almost losing someone close to cause oneself to have a love epiphany."

"How does 12 gold pieces and some Paraiso chocolate sound if I lose?" Val said challengingly.

"Deal, and I'll throw in some Galonia chocolate coins on my end."

"Chloe, you in?"

"I mean, I've never really had any experience in love." Chloe said shyly. And this was true, so she hoped her knowledge from books and what she was observing now would make up for the difference. "But, if I had to guess, I would say that it will happen the night of her Coronation. It will be the start of a new adventure, and I think they'll get caught up in each other, possibly while dancing, that they'll just...realize it at the same time."

Rebecca patted Chloe's back comfortingly. "Well, that settles it."

"I'll put you down for some famous Norberg hot chocolate mix," Val replied. "May the best Princess win."

The song the magically enchanted instruments had been playing finally came to a close just in the nick of time, with Elena and Mateo, of course, holding each other impossibly close on the very last note. The audience let out a roaring applause as the pair bowed.

Mateo excused himself to have them go grab some much needed punch. And when he was far enough away, Elena turned swiftly on her heels to face her Royal Comrades.

"So, what were you all talking about?" She asked, her curiosity very obvious. Nothing got past her. Well, one thing did.

"About how good of partners you were," Rebecca said cleverly.

"The best I've seen in a long time," Val replied back. "Right, Chloe?"

"Yes, that's right!" Chloe managed to squeak out. "Best...partners, ever."


	12. Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the Weekly Challenge over the Discord. This was from the week where the theme was Spring! And I couldn't resist writing more of the my OC babies for them!!

The meaning of spring in Avalor was no different than any other Kingdom, even though they may not celebrate the same holidays. Spring brought the celebration of new beginnings and hope, which for Avalorians, was commemorated by their Sunflower Festival.

On this fine afternoon, The Royal Family was currently helping to harvest the hundreds of thousands of Sunflowers that would be needed to decorate the castle for the festival. 

The three eldest Princesses were helping their father in the fields. Well, Reina was being responsible oldest child by actually getting the flowers. Rosalina, or Ro, was having a much more entertaining time by turning hucking the flowers into the carts a competition with her cousins. And Serafina was happy instructing Mateo from atop of his shoulders.

"Get that one, and that one, and that one too Papi!"

"Alright, alright, _mi estrella_! Be patient though," Mateo chuckled as he did as commanded.

The two youngest children, Lala and Zelipe were sitting with Elena on the soft picnic blanket.

"Now, be careful, you don't want to hurt their wings," Elena said as a beautiful, large monarch butterfly was settled on her hand.

"Can we take them home Mami?" Zelipe asked earnestly, his green eyes getting wide and pleading.

"No, _mi chiquito_. You wouldn't want someone to take you away from your home, would you?"

The boy shook his head, his full head of dark curls shaking with him.

"Then we should leave them in their home, but you can finish drawing so that way you can have them with you for all time."

Zelipe smiled as he clutched a chubby hand around his color pencils as he attempted to continue drawing. It had the basic outline, but was more of a blob of orange, black, and white.

With her son engaged, Elena used her free hand to adjust the parasol that was shielding Lala from the bright and hot sun as the baby continued to sleep peacefully for her afternoon nap. Her head was nestled against her favorite plushy Jaquin that Mateo had made, with a little bit of help from Abuela Rafa.

"I've been abandoned!" Mateo then proclaimed as he walked over to the blanket.

Elena smiled and looked over his shoulder to see Sera now on top of Gabe's shoulders.

"Not tall?"

"Not tall enough to get the flowers she wants."

Elena couldn't help herself as she smirked at him. "Well don't worry, I'm sure your love still REACHES her"

"Then I'll try to see the HEIGHT side then." Mateo replied back with a cocky lift to his eyebrow. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Much!" Elena said cheerfully. "I should be able to trade with you after lunch and have a chance to get my hands dirty while you stay with the babies."

Mateo nodded before turning his attention to Zelipe as he plopped down on the blanket. "What are you drawing there Zel?"

"A moron-icly butterfly!"

"A moron-icly butterfly?" Mateo repeated back amused. "Looks very pretty."

"Thank you."

Elena smiled and turned to stroke a finger lightly over Lala's round cherub cheek. The baby twitched slightly in response to that.

"Hey, Mateo"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm pregnant again."

Mateo turned back to her shocked. His eyes immediately flicked down to Lala. "Already?"

Elena nodded. The reaction wasn't unwarranted, Lala had finally just gotten to the point that she slept through the entire night, and now another little one on the way.

"You're going to be a big sister before you're even a year old, _mi Angelita,_ " Elena said, slipping her finger into Lala's tiny grasp.

Mateo was silent though, with his eyes in intense concentration.

"Mi amor?"

"Six?" Mateo then said before turning back to her. "Is that what we're going to be at?"

It even took Elena a moment to think and went down the list of children, counting them off on her fingers.

"It would appear so!" Elena said as she couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her. "So no one can say we haven't done our Royal duty."

Mateo laughed right along with her as he moved swiveled his body around and put his head in her lap.

"Well, as we say, tis the season for new beginnings!"


	13. Loved in all Forms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good lord, you want to talk about an Eleteo drabble that has been collecting dust!!
> 
> I wanted to post this one during maybe the 2018? 2019? Eleteo week when I had committed to doing ALL Au's for that week.
> 
> This one was about the Los Cuatro Amigos having different body types than their show counterparts: Elena's plus size, Mateo's rail thin and EXTREMELY tall, Gabe's husky, and Naomi's more overtly muscular.
> 
> Anyways, just a fun little drabble I finally found and finished. Enjoy!

“Ouch!” Mateo exclaimed as he hit his head on the doorway out of the beachside villa, almost dropping the tray of  _ Agua fresca  _ he had been carrying.

“Careful with the drinks, Cabana boy!” Gabe called out from the rock him and the girls were lounging on, the afternoon sun warming up their damp, chilled skin and swimsuits.

“I think I was looking more of a ‘thank you,’ Mateo retorted as he set the tray down on the rock. He had only wanted to get a cup of himself, but, one can’t ever just get a drink for themselves when you have friends.

“Hey Mateo, how's the weather up there?” Elena said in a cheeky tone, bumping her large, curvy hip against his bony one, well, she tried to anyway since she barely came up to his shoulders.

“Elena…” Mateo groaned. He loved a good pun, but she could be a bit more original.

“What? I couldn’t hear you from all the way up there!” Elena shot back, giggling at her own bad joke.

“And now break time is officially over, since Elena ruined it,” Naomi said as she jumped off the rock and grabbed their olaball.

“Count me in,” Gabe said as he followed behind her.

“Spoil sports!” Elena jeered. She then turned up to look at Mateo with a small pout on her lips. “I’m hilarious.”

“I know you are,” Mateo said as he took a large gulp of his drink and heavily plopped down into the sand right at the water's edge. Once he completely drained his drink, he crossed his long legs and hunched over his tall frame. 

Naomi had had the bright idea of trying out Water Olaball, which sounded fun at first, but after 10 minutes of tripping in the water and splashing hard, his muscles felt like jello while Gabe’s barrel chest and husky frame, and not to mention Naomi having abs on top of abs made them have a superhuman level of stamina.

“Mind if I sit with you?” Elena then asked as she now stood over him, surprising him since he was sure she would have gone back into the water too.

“Over course,” Mateo said as he unfolded so he could scooch over slightly to make room for her.

Elena just smirked at her boyfriend though, and instead sat right on his lap.

“This spot looks comfy,” Elena said as she curled herself against him, wiggling her extremely soft hips for extra emphasis.

“If you say so,” Mateo said as he felt a blush creeping up the back of his neck.

“Careful not to break Mateo in half, Elena!” Gabe yelled to the couple. His tone was full of friendly comradery and not a hint of malice, but Mateo couldn't help but flinch slightly.

“You know he didn’t mean anything bad,” Elena instantly said in a comforting tone.

“No, I know, just...a force of habit sometimes,” Mateo said as his eyes drifted to his arms. Remembering the days of when he would agonize of what was the point of having height if you had no muscle mass behind it, so you stood out as an almost 6’4 tree than anything else. Which was further reinforced on a daily basis by comments made by schoolmates and the older Senoritas of the neighborhood.

Mateo put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not bothered by what he said, are you?”

“From Gabe? No.” Elena pulled up the neckline of her swimsuit to cover up some of her cleavage and light stretch marks that sat on top of them, “From others...sometimes.”

Mateo’s eyebrows scrunched together. “I’m surprised anybody would ever say anything like that to you. You know, with being Crown Princess and all.”

“Of course they have,” Elena scoffed, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I've heard them all:  _ You're surprisingly athletic despite how you look, are you sure you want that dress, it will require a lot of...alterations,  _ or even, _ you'll have to send us your portrait since there's no way all of you can fit in a miniature.” _

Mateo grimaced. “Yikes.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Elena replied in a more solemn tone.

Mateo bit his lip, he hadn’t meant to bring down the mood or make her feel bad. He couldn’t stand when Elena felt sad.

“You know, I remember the first time I saw a portrait of you.”

“Oh really?” Elena said with an arched brow.

“Yep,” Mateo nodded. “My mami had some been able to keep and preserve the portraits my grandfather had of all of the royal family, and even used it as propaganda for people who were forgetting the old Avalor or never had a chance to see it.”

Elena smiled. “That sounds like Rafa.”

“After I had lost my father, I was in a pretty bad place, I didn’t think there was any hope of life getting any better,” Mateo swallowed hard, trying to keep the horrible memory down. “So my mom started getting more serious with the stories she had told me. She also taught me old dances, turned a blind eye, I guess, when I found my grandfather’s workshop, and finally showed me your portraits.”

Mateo’s own smile stretched across his lips as he leaned back on his hands to happily let himself get lost in this memory. 

“I finally had a face to the girl who had danced in Town Square with the common folk, and practiced sword fighting with the Queen in the grand ballroom, and who had sacrificed herself in order to save the rest of her family and castle staff. And she was the most incredible girl I have ever seen in my whole life.”

Mateo felt another rush of embarrassment as he looked to see Elena staring at him with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. He awkwardly coughed and was about to brush past it when Elena grabbed the sides of his face, squishing his cheeks slightly, before crushing a kiss to his lips.

“You are incredible,” Elena purred in his ear, fingers trailing down his bony spine. “You are beautiful, and kind, and smart, and I couldn’t imagine my life without you.” Elena had been placing kisses on his face with each thing she listed off.

They met together this time for this kiss, which was much softer but somehow made his body feel like it was burning and drowning at the same time. For once, he didn’t feel self conscious about his stick arms as he wrapped them around her gorgeous plus size frame.

There was so much of her to feel, and kiss, and --

Mateo and Elena screeched as a large wave of sea washed over them.

The two teens looked over to see Gabe and Naomi cackling, not even trying to hide they were caught red handed.

“Sorry, you two looked like you could use some cooling down!” Naomi exclaimed, holding her sides from laughing so hard.

“That’s it!” Elena declared as she jumped to her feet and held out a hand to him. “This calls for a rematch, in which Mateo and I will thoroughly kick your butts in!”

With the sun backlighting her, she looked ten times better than her portrait. She was real and vibrant and fiery yet warm.

So, Mateo happily clasped her hand with a smirk on his face as he was yanked up to his feet rather easily by her strength, and once again towered over her.

He kept his body and head held up high as they ran into the water, hand in hand, ready to show that they weren’t only a great dream team when it came to magic.


	14. The Last Dance

All in all, Elena could safely say that her Coronation went off with a hitch.

True, the day overall had been a mixed bag of emotional and physical trials. However, the ceremony itself was fantastic! And it was all thanks to every person who had brought this day to life for her.

Her crown fit perfectly, there were no wars started among the pool of monarchs who had gathered, and not a single dessert was burned or spoiled.

That last one ended up being probably the most important at the end of the long night as she sat at an empty table to enjoy some peace and quiet while she indulged in her plate of desserts. 

Most of the guests had gone to their guest rooms for the night. This included Isabel who had fallen asleep on the throne, which thrilled Elena to see how comfortable she looked there now, and had to be carried back to her room by Gabe.

This left only a small smattering of guests spread out into small groups throughout the ballroom. One of the most surprising groupings ended up being Naomi and Esteban sitting a table with Ambassador Shoji and Ambassador Nathaniel. Elena couldn't hear the conversation, but by the way Esteban was sitting in the middle of the group and kept motioning to Naomi, she was most likely getting introduced to other Ambassadors in response to her new Chancellor position that she only had for a few hours now. And she was worried about not being good enough.

"Is this seat taken, your Majesty?"

Elena smiled at the sound of his voice and looked up to see Mateo standing up above her. "There is always a spot for you, Royal Wizard."

Mateo returned her smile and took a set beside her. "Wow," He then said as he motioned to her plate. "I was wondering where the last of the chocolate treats went."

"Well, I loved my white satin gloves, and I knew I wanted to wear them when I became Queen since I was fiver years old." Elena held up her hands and wiggled her now bare fingers. "But, they do make it harder to eat little messier foods without ruining them."

Elena then pointed to his more fruity, but still equally sugary plate full of food. "And what about you?" She asked a sly grin forming. "What's your mami going to say if you end up getting an upset tummy?" Elena giggled as she poked the ticklish spot between his ribs causing him to jump.

"Hey, I am a Master Royal Wizard who lives in the Palace, so I'm my own man who can eat whatever I want," Mateo said proudly holding his head up...before leaning in close to her and pointing over his shoulder. "Plus, she's distracted anyways."

Elena followed where he was pointing to see another group she never expected to see. Rafa was sitting with Carla and Victor. The woman had one of Carla's shoe in her hand and seemed to be mending it with incredible speed with the Delgados looking on in awe. Elena also noticed how Marisa and Marzel were peering in too.

Suddenly there was a slight rustling and Elena looked down at her plate to notice that one of her chocolate covered strawberries was gone. Only to look up and see that Mateo was deliberately looking away from her with a large chipmunk cheek and chocolate on his lips.

"Hey! Stealing from your Queen!?" Elena exclaimed and poked at his cheek. "That's not very Royal Wizard-y of you."

"I don't know what your talking," Mateo mumbled out with a shrug of his shoulders before swallowing. "It just disappeared...like magic."

"Well, aren't you just sooo sweet. You'll probably put my abuela's chocolate shop out of business," Elena replied and stole a pan dulce off his plate to get even.

"Any other requests for us, your majesty, before we pack up?" The lead guitar player of the evenings mariachi band then asked.

Elena blinked in surprise. Was it already so late? The night had passed by in such a wonderful blur, that she immediately squinted her eyes through the windows and over to the horizon to give her confirmation.

Before she could get an answer though, Mateo had other ideas.

"Actually, Gustavo, can I make a request?" He asked after he wiped his mouth. "Can you play _luz de luna en sus ojos_? It's on of my favorite old Avaloran songs." He then looked at Elena sheepishly. "If that's alright with you?"

Elena shot him an amused look. He had no problem stealing her treats, and yet he got shy about picking a song choice. But, she realized this would be the last song that would play at her Coronation ceremony, as the barest hint of pink was peering over the tall Avaloran mountain peaks. And felt her heart patter slightly at him being so considerate.

"I think that sounds like the perfect song to end on. I haven't heard that song in years anyways!" Elena declared brightly.

"You got it!" Gustavo shot them a wink before during to the rest of his fellow musicians. The others immediately took up their instruments, nodded in readiness, and perfectly jumped right into the song.

Despite being a tango song, it was one of the more soothing and slower tempo paced varieties, that it didn't clash with peaceful atmosphere of the room, especially as the beautiful violin took center stage.

Mateo and Elena were both so equally enthralled by the music, that neither of them noticed the other was tapping their foot and swaying to the beat until they suddenly ended up lightly knocking shoulders. 

Their eyes met, hazel and amber, with that spark of instant connection igniting like it had so many times before.

Wordlessly Mateo put out his hand, but the message was loud and clear.

Elena reached her hand out in response and gave him a smile that crinkled the corner of her eyes.

"Oh! Wait!" She retreated her hand back right before they were about to touch and startled Mateo.

Elena then got to her feet. "If we're going to dance, then I don't want it to be as Queen," She said as she gently took off her large and glamourous, but still very heavy, crown and gently set it on the table. "I want it to be with me just as Elena."

Mateo chuckled as he got to his own feet. "Well, you will always be my Queen now," He said as he went to untie the emerald and green sash of his robes that was around his waist. "But I can follow in leaving behind being your Master Royal Wizard right now, and just being plain Mateo."

Elena thought to herself how he was anything but "plain" as she reached down to lastly took off her blue satin heels, since she had already shed most of her jewelry earlier when she took off her gloves. She sighed as she flexed her toes and felt the cool marble to the ballroom floor.

Mateo draped his wizard robe over the back of the chair he had been sitting in. To Elena's surprise, he wasn't wearing his everyday green vest, but his brown and gold adventure one. 

She wondered if he had dressed this way in anticipation of a big battle, her big test, coming sometime today. Though, with the way most celebrations in the Kingdom ended, she wasn't entirely surprised herself that this had been one of those days as well too. And the biggest one at that.

Whatever the reason, it was still a good look on him, and made him look just as dashing, especially when he bowed forward and had his hand extended out to her once again.

There wasn't no hesitance or teasing this time, as she clapped her hand onto his, and pulled him onto the dance floor so suddenly, that he fumbled a little over his feet and let out an adorable little yelp.

Tonight had been full of odd couples and surprises, but it warmed her in thinking that all her friends and allies were able to get along as well together. At least for her special day. But the only few pairs that remained now on the dance floor were couples, all who looked like were just enjoying each others company, including her abuelos.

They were all so enthralled with one another, that no seemed to bat an eye at Elena and Mateo as they took to the center of the floor and faced one another. Mateo gave another great bow and Elena gave him a deep curtsy before she put her hand on his shoulder, and his on her hip, while their other hands clasped together.

The other couples weren't even trying to match the style of dance to the music, but that made it all the more exciting to Elena that this would be something only her and Mateo would be sharing right now. Especially when she had had to keep to a basic waltz almost all night in order to accommodate her dance partners that had come from all over the EverRealm.

Their bodies moved in rhythm with ease as they already knew each other's language so well that they were practically fluent.

Elena felt a rush of excitement light her up as they moved across the floor, never worrying that he would step on her toes as their legs weaved in and out of each other or that he would drop her in a dip, because she trusted him, wholeheartedly. And if they did happen to misstep or collide into one another, neither of them were filled with mortification, only silly laughter as they immediately picked up the next steps without missing a beat.

Still, even the adrenaline of the dance and the euphoric high of having fun with him wasn't able to stay off the fatigue she had been feeling build up through out the day. Mateo must have felt it as well as their movements slowed down that they were doing nothing more now than moving in a slow circle. 

Elena did try her best to stifle a yawn, but the familiar soft music, and swaying of their movements, and the warmth from his callused hand was only in making her feel more relaxed and sleepy.

Perhaps she could just rest her eyes for a minute as she would hate to ruin the only dance they would share tonight because of her feeling tired.

Instincts decided to take over completely in that moment as her heavy eyelids closed and she moved her head forward until her cheek rested against his comfy shoulder.

He still smelt of his usual rosemary and lemon, which felt great to her senses after a night of being surrounded by intoxicating and no doubt expensive colognes and perfumes. And as he then leaned his own cheek against the top of the bun that some of her long hair was pulled into, she could hear the beating of his heart, steady and strong.

Elena couldn't remember that last time she felt so safe and secure, but never quite so...intimate before that she unconsciously let out a deep sigh of content, her warm breath fanning against the side of Mateo's neck. 

In an instant, she felt him jolt and stiffen in her arms, and it was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her. She felt plenty of awake as her head shot straight back up.

"Oh my Gods, I'm so sorry," Elena said, her cheeks feeling hot. "I didn't mean to make it weird by doing that--"

"Oh you didn't! Make it weird I mean! It was just a little...ticklish," Mateo replied back hastily, his own blush creeping up on his cheeks. "And it's not like it's the first time we've been that close."

"No. No, of course not," Elena said, letting out an awkward chuckle. 

She then pushed forward more to avoid any uncomfortable feelings. "That was a close call though. You know how I am once I fall asleep. I would have just kept saying '5 more minutes,' and kept you here all night."

Mateo's throat bobbed slightly. "Well, that wouldn't be so bad. It's been a long day for you, so I would understand if you wanted to rest your head on my shoulder for as long as you need to."

That sounded like such a line that someone like Alonso would say, that Elena felt like she should laugh. However, Mateo didn't even say it in his own cocky tone of voice, but all seriousness and sincerity that was edged with a little nervousness, that it resulted in Elena's heart pounding a little more in her chest. The same kind of pounding that happened right before her Takaina dress would change color.

However, since she wasn't wearing that dress, it was up to her to decipher what exactly she was feeling right now as she gripped his shoulder tighter. And while she couldn't put a finger on exactly what it was, but she knew she liked it.

So, slowly, Elena pulled her hand out from their clasped ones and moved so that both her arms were wrapped around his neck before nestling her head back on his shoulder.

"Just five more minutes," She mumbled out, feeling even more comfortable than last time.

Mateo chuckled softly as both his hands moved to rest on her waist. "Alright Elena. Five more minutes."


	15. Robinita Hood AU

The jungles of Avalor were considered one of the most dangerous places in all of the Kingdom. 

But not because they were filled with horrid creatures like the Kupi-Kupi or Troyo the trickster Coyote like in the past. 

No, now what the people, or at least the people in carts filled with Queen Shuriki's money that she collected from her many, many taxes, had to worry about was something even more mysterious. Some called her a demon while others called her a guardian, but the poor and restless people from the Avalor Harbor to the border that touched Paraiso simply called her Robinita Hood. 

However, underneath the layers, her true name was Elena Castillo-Flores. Daughter of Raul and Lucia Castillo-Flores, and rightful heir to the throne. 

Despite this grand title, this Princess was not enjoying an evening feasting in the Great hall or tucked comfortably into a luxurious bed. Instead she was carefully navigating her way through the treetops. Jumping from branch to branch with ease even as she held a picnic basket in one hand as this jungle had been her home for the past few years. 

She finally reached her destination as she now balanced on the balls of her feet on a very thick and sturdy branch that overlooked a small opening that had soft grass and a cool pond, and was illuminated by the bright, full moon. 

It was also empty, and that's what concerned her. He was never late for their meetings. 

There was a rustle in the nearby bushes and with lightning speed Elena placed the basket beside her, drew her bow and notched an arrow to it. She winced as she drew back the bow tighter, wishing now she had stretched her arm more after today's particularly difficult raid. No matter how much time had passed, it seemed she still couldn't get used to her left side having to be the dominant one. But it had been worth it when she had given the stolen money to the people in the North village and saw their happy faces knowing they could survive the hot summer.

There ended being no need for overexertion though as the figure turned out to just be Mateo, the person she had been expecting. Elena breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his face, and put her weapon away and collecting the basket before dropping from the tree. 

Mateo jumped slightly as she landed on the ground with a solid thud. "Oh Gods, Elena!" 

Elena let a small mischievous giggle escape her as she pulled off her red hood. "I can't still be surprising you that way, can I?" 

"Well, I was expecting you to pop out from the bushes or around a rock since I thought the trees would be too predictable." Mateo then looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Unless that was your intention?" 

Elena bit her lip and held up the basket. "If I said yes, would you forgive me if I also said I had some  _ sopa de fideos con pollo  _ from your mother?" 

He eyed the basket. "Dash of cilantro?" 

Elena nodded before reaching behind to her quiver. "And as an added bonus. I brought your tamborita" 

His hazel eyes immediately lit up and his whole feigned anger instantly broke at seeing his favorite object. He was seeing less and less of it as it was too risky to bring to the Palace. 

It was already risky for him to be in the Palace in the first place. If Shuriki found out he was related to Alacazar, he wouldn't even be kept alive long enough to be found out that he was also a part of the rebellion group, the merry Latinx. 

"Then I suppose I can forgive you," he added as he stepped towards her and grabbed the tamborita from her and lovingly admired it. 

Now seeing him in the full moonlight, she noticed he was still in his dark yellow staff uniform and had his hair slicked and styled back, which meant he had come directly from the Palace. 

Elena felt panic claw up. "Are you okay? No one saw you did they?" 

He looked at her momentarily confused before realizing why she was worried. "Oh no, Esteban just had me working late with a mountain of paperwork," Mateo said as he then ran a hand through his hair, freeing his curls. 

Elena reached up and used her left hand to help get the ones near the back of his neck until he looked like himself. "I appreciate you for all you do for us Mateo." 

Mateo shrugged. "It's just being Esteban's secretary. It's my job." 

She didn't pretend not to notice the slight bitter tone he had under his humble reply. Elena knew he would rather be at her side during raids and practicing his magic day and night. But, there was no one she trusted more to see what was going on inside the Palace, as she trusted him ever since he saw passed the amulet and looked directly at her. And talked to her with such honesty that it cut straight to her core. It was the thing she both liked and hated about him. 

Which he proved once again as he then said, "And I still don't think he's on her side, Elena." 

Elena felt herself stiffen, but she recovered quickly, not wanting to talk about her complicated relationship she had with her cousin. Not tonight. 

"And you need to learn how to take my compliments," She replied, as she lightly pinched his cheek. Something she knew annoyed him, but she couldn't help but do ever since Rafa had shown her all of Mateo's baby portraits and his chubby cheeks when Elena had been laying low at the De Alva house those first few months. 

And it worked this time as well as he shook off her hand and turned away blushing in embarrassment. 

"Come on," She said, motioning her head to the pond. "Let's cool off a little since it sounds like it had been a long day for both of us." 

They both took a seat simultaneously together on the edge of the pond, and after pulling off their boots and socks and rolling up their pants, they exhaled loudly as they plunged their feet into the water. It was said that this pond connected to the pool of Azaluna and therefore had some very small healing properties. Elena didn't really care if this was true or not, she just enjoyed the sense of peace and calm she got to have here with Mateo. 

Once they both felt more alive, they instantly tucked into the delicious meal Mateo's mother had packed for them. Mateo even demonstrated a few spells for her. He was getting better every time she saw him and she always sat in awe with her knees hugged to her chest. It always reminded her of HER Avalor. The one filled with so much love and light. The one she hoped for would be very soon. 

So, it was why as soon as they each finished the last of the warm soup, it was time to get down to business and get to the main reason for their secret meetings. 

"I did have a chance to use the magical detection compass that Zuzo helped you find in the Maruvian temple," Mateo confirmed, pulling the object from the pocket of his discarded jacket. 

Elena shifted slightly in anticipation. "And?"

"There are magical items in the Palace" Mateo's eyes shifted downward. "However, it's mostly coming from the Royal Treasury which I still don't have access to." 

Elena's brows furrowed together. "I wonder what she has in there that could be magical." 

Mateo shrugged his shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine. From what I saw from the registry, it looks like things from old Avalor: golden jaquin statue, Queen Lucia's tiara, and even the Royal scepter." 

"Really?" Elena said as she tugged at her braid, her mind already plotting. 

The Royal Treasury was a heavily secure place in the castle. But she already had the knowledge in how to navigate the Palace and had plenty of more skilled comrades in her group now. If they could pull out off, that means they could guarantee that Shuriki would only have her wand left.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing" He gave her an unconvinced look. "Well...Nothing yet. I promise." 

"Just try not to do anything on your own again," Mateo said as his throat then bobbed. "I don't want to almost lose you like last time." 

She swallowed, remembering seeing him sprawled out asleep on the living room floor, books everywhere and his tamborita on his chest. His spells had been the reason for healing her completely and allowing her to walk away with her still having mostly feeling in her right arm and her skin now tinted green. 

"I know," She said softly, drawing small swirl designs with her finger on her leggings. "How are my abuelos and sister?" 

"They're fine. They're safe." Mateo turned his body more towards her. "And what about you? Victor's not giving you too much trouble?" 

Elena scoffed. "Please, I wouldn't trust that new sheriff to catch fish in a barrel, let alone a skilled and famed vigilante such as myself." 

Mateo smiled and rolled his eyes a little at her overconfidence. "And how's the new recruit?" 

"Gabe's still...adjusting," Elena admitted.

Mateo twirled the tamborita nervously in his hands. "Are you sure about him? We've never tried to recruit a soldier before AND a lieutenant at that." 

"I saw the way he is around people, he's got a good heart and has defied orders to protect the innocent." Elena waved a hand. "However, it's also a lot to realize that pretty much everything in your life is a lie and the Queen you serve is nothing more than an evil witch who usurped the throne through regicide." 

Elena's hand tightened around her bow as the cold feeling of guilt crawled over her skin. She winced and touched her right side. She wasn't in actual pain as It was more of a phantom sensation by this point. But it didn't mean that she didn't feel like hundreds of bee stings were tingling from her right shoulder and down her arm to the end of her fingertips. All from the wound she had received that day in the throne room. 

It had been fate or destiny or simple luck that Skylar had come in when Elena had lost the wand back to Shuriki, and had been able to fly away. 

But not before she had been hit with a spell, that horrid _vadisima_ spell, from Shruiki. 

It had only clipped her shoulder, but given the deadliness of it, it was enough to make her entire right side explode in the most aggravating pain she had ever experienced. The spell might have eventually killed her too if not for the fact that Sofia and Mateo, with the impressive speed of the Jaquins, had gotten back to Mateo's house where a very shaken Rafa De Alva was able to spring into action. It was easy to tell it was not her first time dealing with life threatening injuries. 

Even though Elena's reemergence had been brief, word already spread of her return. She heard a few villagers chatter about just beyond the living room window as she laid on the couch. 

Despite the insistence of Sofia and Mateo, Elena shook her head at Rafa when she looked for confirmation. The older woman respected her wishes and told the others that she had heard something similar, and that all they could do now was just to keep faith for the rebellion. 

Both Sofia and Mateo hadn't let the matter drop, but Elena was firm in her decision. 

She had not given up the fight, not by a long shot. But how could she let her people like this? Laid out on a couch, half delirious from pain, dress ripped, and freshly dried blood sticking to her skin. And all only from one brief and failed interaction. 

Even when she had regained consciousness the next morning with her wound fully bandaged, she still had a raging fever that only allowed her to relay the hidden entrance by the dungeons so that Sofia's family could be rescued. 

The brave little princess had offered to stay to fearlessly help Elena once she was strong enough. That attitude was one of the reasons Elena had chosen her. But Elena assured her she had done her part and that she and her family should go home while she figured out her next plan. Besides, Elena didn't want to tell the girl that she couldn't even feel her right arm at the time. And she hadn't until a week later.

Elena quickly shook her head to chase away the shadows of her soul. "And I have Naomi, aka Little John, keeping an eye on him. Said she had no problem whatsoever doing it."

"Oh I don't doubt it." Mateo laughed before slipping back into a more serious tone. "Be safe though. Not that I won't try and protect you with everything I have."

"And I will do the same for you." Elena felt another impish grin grow, "Can't lose my partner for those late night campfire dance lessons for the merry Latinx now can I, Maid Matena." 

Mateo groaned. "Can I pick the codenames next time?" 

"If all goes according to plan, there won't be a next time." Elena looked up to the sky, the beauty of the night sky giving her hope that Avalor will be just as beautiful. "We'll be safe and free and we'll get to be just Elena and Mateo again." 

Mateo smiled as he reached over and grabbed her right hand without hesitation, not at all deterred by the green and roughness of her skin. "Well, not _ just _ Elena. You will be my Queen."

Elena leaned in closer to him and placed her other hand on top of his. "And you will be my Royal Wizard."


	16. Flowers and Fondness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, 2020 really ate me up and spat me back out! It was a hard last few months.
> 
> Luckily, things have been on the rise. And I'm happy to make my first contribution of this year with a little Eleteo love!
> 
> Hopefully this will be one of many! Thank you for all the support!

Mateo had been in some truly tight situations before. 

But this certainly was somewhere high on the list as he tried, once again, in a vain attempt to pull his ankle out from where it was trapped behind him in the branches of the large flowering Pear tree. The very Pear tree that was located in the far and secluded corner of the Palace gardens.

Mateo had already tried calling out for help earlier, but either no one was out here at this time of day or his shrill cries for help were scaring away said potential help. And with his tamborita tauntingly stuck in another branch above him, he couldn't try and use a teleportation spell to get him out of here, even though that was the precise spell that had gotten him stuck here.

At least he had landed on a sturdy branch so he was lying on his stomach rather than hanging completely upside down.

Of course he could do without that sharp annoying tingling that was spreading in his foot and the stray falling petals that tickled his nose.

"What do you mean we lost the ship!?"

Mateo jumped at the sudden sound of human voices. 

"That can't be possible! We just got contact from them the other day!"

Mateo quickly looked towards the source. Because he could only turn his head to hang upside down, he couldn't see her, but he knew Elena's voice anywhere. Adrenaline raced through his blood at the sound of her in distress.

"I'm afraid so, your majesty," Armando's voice said gravely. "It seems Pirates ransacked the ship for all it had just before it crossed over the Azul Ridge."

"But it was full of spices that we promised the lower villages!" Elena exclaimed. "It'll take at least two more months to get another shipment."

"I'm...afraid so, your majesty," Armando said again tentatively. Sounding like he had nothing else he could say.

Mateo remained quiet from his position in the tree. He wasn't meaning to spy, more like this seemed too serious of a situation to suddenly burst in with ANOTHER one of his magical mishaps.

He heard Elena sigh deeply, and wondered if she was tugging at one of her bangs that she usually did when she was stressed.

"Alright, just make sure that the crew members of the ship are taken care of. And then we'll reconvene about what to do about the spices later. Perhaps we can make a deal with Paraiso or Cordoba."

"Yes, your majesty," Armando replied, before the sound of his light steps began to retreat away.

Mateo made a move to call out for help now that Elena seemingly handled the situation. But once again jumped as Elena let out a loud frustrated groan that was anything but 'Queenly.'

He then heard that sound of her heels clack towards his direction, and through an opening in the thick branches saw as Elena rubbed at her shoulders. She then promptly turned around and let herself slide down the trunk of the Pear tree and slump onto the grass, taking her crown off in the process.

Infuriatingly again because of the angle Mateo was stuck in, he couldn't see her face, but he didn't need to. The way she was lovingly holding her crown, that was modeled after her mother Lucia's, her fingers tracing the round gold swirls, was exactly the same thing he did with his own Sunbird tamborita at times. When he felt lost and wishing desperately for even the smallest bit of guidance. 

All thoughts of his position were now no longer a concern. All that mattered was her smile.

He'd seen her happiness and love bring joy to others, make flowers bloom, and shine light in the darkness. If he could do something that brought even a small part of that out now, he would be satisfied.

Another one of the small delicate petals of the pear blossoms fell on his face, and that gave Mateo a mischievous idea.

With a little bit of maneuvering, Mateo grabbed ahold of the strong branch he had been laying on with both hands, and began to give it a great shake.

Immediately, a storm of the white petals began to rain down right on top of Elena.

Elena jumped up to her feet from the ambush, but seeing that it was friendly, had a large smile stretch across her lips.

She then raised her face heavenward and closed her eyes. And not caring that she was Queen of an entire nation and had the powerful magic of Ancient Maru in her veins, began to twirl around, letting the petals fall over her skin.

Mateo felt a grin melt onto his face, thinking how she had looked just as angelic as she did a few years ago after they had defeated Olivia's rampant water spirit, and a light fall of snow stuck to her skin, her hair, and her eyelashes. So Ethereal.

Mateo's arm then slipped out from under him in surprise.

It was true that everyone thought that Elena was beautiful and amazing. But Angelic? Ethereal? Those were things Mateo realized as he swallowed hard and remained frozen, that sweethearts called each other.

But Elena wasn't his sweetheart as he had made very clear to Carla on more than one occasion. She was his friend and his Queen. But could she be more? Did he want to be more to her? Did she?

Elena though seemed unperturbed by the sudden stop of the flower shower and his conflicting thoughts, as she cupped her hands, catching a handful of last remaining petals. She brought up her hands to her nose, deeply inhaling their perfumed fragrance and looking so at peace.

He felt so peaceful along with her that he hadn't noticed himself beginning to slip off the branch. He let out a loud yelp as he quickly clung back to it.

"Mateo?" Elena asked, looking around for him.

"Up here!" Mateo called back. Although, he wasn't sure how he felt about her being able to recognize him by his yelp.

He gave the branch another shake. "Just thought you could use some cheering up!"

Elena let out her musical and beautiful jovial laugh that warmed his heart, "Thank you." She then cocked an eyebrow up at him, "So what are you really doing in a tree?"

"I got stuck."

She laughed again, this one a little bit deeper, and definitely indicated that she was laughing at him than with him.

"I'll get you down."

She picked up her blue skirts high, and in a few expert moves, was on the branch right beside him. She then had his ankle out so quick and easily that a hot blush creep up his neck as he got himself upright.

"Thanks Elena," Mateo said as he reached up and yanked his tamborita out from the branches, checking it for any damage.

"So," Elena began as she crossed her legs. "You want to tell me how exactly you got stuck in this tree?"

"I was trying this new teleportation spell I found in one of my Abuelo's books." Mateo ran his hand along the edge of the tamborita. "So I tried from the _Bibliotecha_ to my bedroom, and it worked! Then from my bedroom to my workshop, and it worked again!" Mateo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "And then I wanted to try from my bedroom to the Front Gates, and well..."

He gestured to the tree to save himself the embarrassment of saying it out loud and having to relive it again.

Elena was quiet, and for a second he worried he had soured her mood with his failure. As he began to lift up his head though, he heard the rustling of a branch and his own flower shower began to fall on him. All the while Elena was laughing and shaking the branch as hard as she could.

And even when she stopped, she reached over and started ruffling the petals deep into his curly locks that he felt no choice but to laugh along with her childish craziness.

"That's incredible Mateo! Truly!" She said while she tried to catch her breath. "It just also sounds like you should be starting with familiar places." Elena tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Oh! You could try my bedroom next!"

Another wave of a hot blush washed over Mateo. "Are you sure? Wouldn't you be annoyed with me randomly falling into your bedroom while I practice?"

Elena's smile only curved into something softer as she picked a full Pear blossom, and tucked it into his hair. "I think I'm pretty fond of you falling in my life any time, my Royal Wizard."

Mateo immediately felt as if the warmness on his inside was shining through to his outside. So, he didn't miss a beat as he picked a blossom of his own and tucked into her hair, right where her orange orchids used to be.

"Then I'll say that you can always fall into my life as well, My Queen. No matter what you may need me for or what problems you're facing."

Elena looked at him curiously for a second, before recognition that he had heard her earlier conversation came over her. But rather than getting sad or mad for having been seen in such a vulnerable state, she instead smiled softly at him again.

And in perfect unison, they both reached out and joined hands, fully sharing this secret moment in the Pear tree together.


	17. Bedside Banter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old idea that sprung up for ship week 2021. And it seemed only perfect to end on a classic couple!

It had been theorized that perhaps Elena's old magic had given her some kind of immunity to sickness because it had been too preoccupied with sapping her energy. Or perhaps because her new magic relied on her emotions, her stress and sleepiness were ramped up even more. 

Whatever the reason, Elena hated that she was sick.

And not just some light sniffles. It was that hacking cough, runny nose, burning fever kind of sick.

It didn't help that everyone was in an uproar by her sickness. After all, the Monarch was the symbol of the Kingdom, and so if the Monarch wasn't in perfect health, what was that to say about the Kingdom? Or whatever nonsense she had heard through her hazy bits of consciousness.

There really was no need for the fuss. She would be up and ready for business as usual by tomorrow...as long as her stomach didn't feel like it was in knots. Or her body flashed between hot and cold so fast.

At least her fever dreams were becoming not quite so lucid (And she was an expert on bizarre dreams by this point). She was even then awoken not by harsh whispers or an icy cold, sopping wet cloth on her forehead, but by a savory, delicious, and warm aroma.

Elena cracked her heavy eyes and saw a small pot sitting on a rolling tray. She was eternally grateful that she was now gaining her sense of smell again as she was able to recognize it as Senora de Alva's, or Rafa as she preferred to now be called by Elena, famous s _opa de fideos con pollo_.

Elena groaned deeply into her pillow as she stretched out her limbs and back before slowly pulling herself up into a sitting position as to not make herself dizzy.

She smiled as she saw next to a set of bowls was a book that read 'Ancient Maruvian Healing Remedies' and a few colorful vials of potions. 

Her heart swelled even more when she finally heard his voice nearby. "Elena, you awake?"

"Yep," Elena croaked out, and quickly cleared her throat. "Yep. I'm feeling a lot better. Might be able to eat."

Elena then caught her reflection in her vanity mirror and choked. She suddenly remembered in her barely stable state last night, she had slipped on her oldest, most faded nightgown that had a few holes and a collar so stretched out that it hung off her shoulder. And even though she felt like she had slept for hours, she had huge, dark circles under her eyes. And the final punch to her pride was her fitful sleeping had caused her hair to become a large nest of knots.

She made a wild and desperate attempt to rub her eyes and smooth her hair, even though her arms felt as heavy as lead.

She even made an effort to fix her nightgown, with no avail, as Mateo came around from her powder room area with a spoon in one hand and a small bottle in the other

"Hey there handsome," Elena said as casually as she could, wiping her nose with her nearby handkerchief and sniffling. "Want to be my Royal Wizard?"

Mateo gave her an amused look at her typical pick-up line. "I would be honored, your majesty," Mateo said as he tipped the bottle, and a dark, thick liquid poured into the spoon. "After you take your medicine." 

As Elena opened her mouth to protest, Mateo quickly put the spoon in my mouth.

Elena gagged a little as she swallowed the bitter tasting medicine.

"Is that an old Maruvian formula?" Elena asked as she made a reach for the cup of water that was on her bedside table.

"Not this time. This one's courtesy of Dr. Mama De Alva," Mateo said as he corked the small dark bottle. "Works like a charm, even better than all those potions combined. So you'll start feeling better in no time."

Perhaps it was just the magic of his words, but Elena actually started feeling a little bit better pretty instantaneously. She stretched her arms above her head as her back gave a much more satisfying pop. Excitement filled her at the possibility at being able to be out of this bed and room as soon as possible, and she had only missed one night--

Elena's eyes suddenly widened in horror. "The meteor shower..."

Mateo froze mid-stirring up the soup.

"Oh! Yeah..." He replied awkwardly before putting a lid on the pot and quickly focusing his attention on slicing the loaf of bread for her. "Well, all that matters is you're feeling better!"

Despite his kindness, it didn't stop the guilt from rising in Elena's chest. And when she looked into her vanity mirror again and saw her sickly state, a mixture of embarrassment also began to creep in as well.

"I'm so sorry," Elena said timidly before throwing her blanket over her head. 

"Elena," Mateo's voice said softly as he made a reach and began to pull at the blanket. Elena was stubborn though as she tightened her grip and increased her cocoon.

"The meteor shower will take place in five years, and I don't plan on going anywhere from Avalor or you anytime soon. So we'll just go next time."

Elena quickly turned away from him, greatly hoisting all her blankets with her so she could remained covered. "It's not that. Well, not all of it."

"Then what is it?" She heard his footsteps move around to the other side of her bed. "Come on, talk to me."

It was that slight plea in his voice that finally made her cave. She hated to seem him upset in any way, and to be the cause of it because of her childish display only made it worse. 

Elena uncovered her head and was relieved by the soft smile on his face. She then placed her hand out, which he gladly took, gripping it tighter than the last time they had been in this exact position after she had defeated Orizaba a few years ago.

Elena nervously licked her lips before she began. "We haven't had a date in a long time because we've been so busy recently, me especially, and I just wanted to have a nice time tonight. So much so that I pulled a couple of all nighters." She lolled her head back against her pillow at the sudden realization that those all nighters were probably the reason she had gotten sick.

"You always plan such fun and great dates, that it was supposed to be my turn."

"Elena," Mateo began softly again as he moved to sit on her bed right beside her. "As long as we get to meet up and be together, then I think it's the best date ever."

"Even if we're just sitting and talking?" Elena asked earnestly as she scooted closer and laid her head on his chest.

"Yes," He said as he put an arm around her. "Even if we're just sitting and talking."

Elena snuggled into his chest, before then sitting up to throw the blanket off because she was now roasting, and then resuming her position.

"Well, then that would mean we've been dating since our adventure to the Island of Santalos, that night when we talked all through Esteban's party."

Mateo barked out a laugh. "That might be a little too early. After all, I thought I was still just your Royal Wizard at the time."

"So, when did you start to like me?" Elena ducked her head down bashfully, even though the two of them had been courting for almost 6 months now. "You know...like me, like me."

Mateo's also got instantly bashful as well as a scarlet blush appeared on his cheeks. "W-well, I mean I always admired you and thought you were absolutely incredible, even before you came out of that amulet." He pulled at the collar of his shirt. "And I felt so lucky just to be able to get to know you. And then sometime after that, they just slowly began to change."

Mateo rested his head on top of hers. "But I guess, when you fell in that well at Takaina, and I was so scared that I lost you for a second, and then you arose stronger than ever...it did something to me. Something where every time we talked, or touched, or anything really, my heart started racing a little more each time, until I realized what that feeling was. But I liked our relationship the way it was and I was so afraid of messing it up that I decided to keep it to myself."

"I'm glad you didn't in the end," Elena whispered.

The two of them laid in the calm silence, soaking up the moment.

Mateo then coughed out a nervous chuckle. "And when did you start to like me, like me, my Queen?"

"It was probably later than you did." Elena shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I had never grown up with those wonderous and romantic feelings that other's had gushed about, it was always different for me. At least, never as quick." Elena reached over and laced their fingers together. "But, just as you had, I thought you were an amazing and talented person before I had even been released from the amulet." 

Elena became memorized by him rubbing small circles with his thumb on the back of her hand. "I think I started to have those small heart racing moments more after my Coronation. Or I guess, even during it when we had that last dance together, and I felt so warm and safe with you, but somehow now a little more. I guess now that so much of the weight had been lifted off my shoulders and everything felt truly perfect, my heart was open for more."

Elena giggled. "Although, I guess even then, we still required a push."

"I told Carla many times that it was a delicate situation!" Mateo exclaimed. "And now she's proudly says she was the one that got us together."

"I think it was just finally the right time." Elena's smile broadened as she looked up at him, "It was finally our time."

Mateo shook his head slightly at her obvious reference, but still smiled as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Well, I think it's time for, your majesty, that you got something to eat." Mateo sat up more, "What do you say?"

"Alright," Elena said begrudgingly as she released him. "But only if you get a bowl for yourself, take off your vest and boots, and get in this bed with me so can continue this mushy conversation."

Mateo smiled as he immediately began pulling off his boots. "That sounds like the perfect date."


End file.
